Patient Guide

HIPPA Notice

Harrisburg Medical Center NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

This Notice Describes How Health Information About You May Be Used And Disclosed And How You Can Get Access To This Information. Please review it carefully. The privacy of your health information is important to us.

Our Pledge:

Harrisburg Medical Center is dedicated to protecting your medical information.  We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information and to provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information.  Harrisburg Medical Center is required by law to abide by the terms of this Notice, and we reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice, making any revision applicable to all the protected health information we maintain.  If Harrisburg Medical Center revises the terms of this Notice, it will post a revised notice at the Hospital and will make paper copies of this Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information available upon request.

Uses And Disclosures Of Your Medical Information:

Harrisburg Medical Center will use your medical information as part of rendering patient care.  For example, your medical information may be used by the health care professional treating you, by the business office to process your payment for the services rendered and by administrative personnel reviewing the quality and appropriateness of the care you received.

Harrisburg Medical Center may also use and/or disclose your information in accordance with federal and state laws for the following purposes:

• Harrisburg Medical Center may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
• Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose medical information when required by the United States Department of Health and Human Services as part of an investigation or determination of the Hospital’s compliance with relevant laws.
• Unless you object, and with the exception of Behavioral Health Patients, Harrisburg Medical Center will include general information, including your name, location in the hospital, your condition described in general terms and your religious affiliation in a directory of individuals located in the Hospital.  The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, will be released to people who ask for you by name.  Your religious affiliation may be given to members of the clergy, even if they do not ask for you by name.
• Unless you object, and with the exception of Behavioral Health Patients, Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose to family members, other relatives or close personal friends the medical information directly relevant to such person’s involvement with your care.
• Unless you object, and with the exception of Behavioral Health Patients, Harrisburg Medical Center may use or disclose your medical information to notify a family member, a personal representative or another person responsible for your care, of your location, general condition or death.
• Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose your medical information to a public or private entity for the purpose of coordinating with that entity to assist in disaster relief efforts.
• Harrisburg Medical Center may use or disclose your medical information for public health activities, including the reporting of disease, injury, vital events and the conduct of public health surveillance, investigation and/or intervention.  Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose your medical information to a health oversight agency for oversight activities authorized by law, including audits, investigations, inspections, licensure or disciplinary actions, administrative and/or legal proceedings.
• Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose your medical information for law enforcement purposes or other specialized governmental functions.
• Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose your medical information to a coroner, medical examiner or a funeral director.
• Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose your medical information to any research program in which you may have elected to participate.
• Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose your medical information due to specialized government functions related to: military and veterans activities, national security and intelligence activities, protective services for the President and others, medical suitability determinations, correctional institutions and other law enforcement custodial situations and covered entities that are government programs providing public benefits

If you are an organ donor, Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose your medical information to an organ donation or procurement organization.

• Harrisburg Medical Center may use or disclose your medical information to prevent or lessen a serious threat to the health or safety of another person or the public.
• Harrisburg Medical Center may disclose your medication information as authorized by laws relating to workers’ compensation or similar programs.

Your Rights Regarding Your Medical Information:

You have the following rights with respect to your medical information:

• The right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your medical information.  Harrisburg Medical Center is not required to agree to your requested restriction.
• The right to receive communications from Harrisburg Medical Center in a confidential manner. The right to inspect and copy your medical information.  This right is subject to certain specific exceptions, and you may be charged a reasonable fee for any copies of your records.
• The right to request an amendment of your medical information.  Harrisburg Medical Center may deny your request for specific reasons, and, if denied, the Hospital will provide you with a written explanation for the denial and information regarding further rights you would have at that point.
• The right to receive an accounting of the disclosures of your medical information by Harrisburg Medical Center in the six years prior to your request, except for disclosures for treatment, payment or Hospital operational purposes, and for certain other specific disclosure types.
• The right to request a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information.
• The right to complain to Harrisburg Medical Center and/or to the United States Department of Health and Human Services if you believe that the Hospital has violated your privacy rights.  To complain to Harrisburg Medical Center, please contact the Hospital’s Privacy Officer at 618.253.0211, or by writing to PO Box 428, 100 Dr. Warren Tuttle Drive, Harrisburg, IL 62946.  If you choose to file a complaint, you will not be retaliated against in any way.

If you would like further information regarding your rights or regarding the uses and disclosures of your medical information, you may contact Harrisburg Medical Center’s Privacy Officer at 618.253.0211.

PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING SAFETY AND QUALITY OF CARE AT HARRISBURG MEDICAL CENTER

The Joint Commission periodically conducts an accreditation survey of Harrisburg Medical Center. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate the organization’s compliance with nationally established Joint Commission standards. The survey results are used to determine whether, and the conditions under which, accreditation should be awarded to Harrisburg Medical Center.

The Joint Commission’s standards deal with organization and safety quality-of-care issues and the safety of the environment in which care is provided.

As a patient, family member, community representative, employee, or medical staff member of Harrisburg Medical Center you have the right to notify the Joint Commission regarding any concern about the quality of care provided, safety of the care provided, or safety of the environment in which care is provided. Anyone believing that he or she has pertinent and valid information about such matters should notify the Joint Commission.

The Joint Commission
Division of Accreditation Operations
Office of Quality Monitoring
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL  60181

PH. toll-free 800.994.6610
FX. 630.792.5636
E-mail: complaint@jointcommission.org
Website:  http://www.jointcommission.org

This notice is communicated and posted in accordance with the Joint Commission’s requirement.

Complaints, Appeals and Grievances

If you have concerns about the care provided to you during your stay in Harrisburg Medical Center or HMC Ambulatory Care, you may file a complaint with the Department of Public Health by telephone, mail, online or fax. By telephone, you may call the Department’s Central Complaint Registry, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday at 800.252.4343. You may also wish to first discuss your concerns with the personnel available at the facility.

 

You also may submit your complaint in writing to:

Illinois Department of Public Health
Office of Health Care Regulations
Central Complaint Registry
525 W. Jefferson St., Ground Floor
Springfield, IL 62761-0001

E-mail : dph.ccr@illinois.gov
FX. 217.524.8885
TTY. 800.547.0466
Website: http://www.idph.state.il.us

Financial Assistance

Download Financial Assistance Application here

Harrisburg Medical Center Financial Assistance Program

Medical bills can be devastating to anyone, especially to those individuals who have no medical insurance. In an effort to address this growing trend in our service area, Harrisburg Medical Center is pleased to introduce and offer the Financial Assistance Program.

The Financial Assistance Program is provided to help individuals who are uninsured or under-insured with their hospital bills. Each applicant is prescreened by our financial counselor to determine eligibility. This is done by obtaining the applicant's gross annual income and household size to determine where they fall on the poverty income guideline chart. Harrisburg Medical Center uses the Poverty Income Guideline (PIG) chart published annually by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. To apply, the applicant must complete a financial assistance application, provide verification of all household income and obtain a denial from the State of Illinois Department of Human Services. Once all requested information is obtained the application is processed. The applicant then receives a letter of determination by mail.

Since the programs inception, Harrisburg Medical Center has helped hundreds of individuals and their families all over southern Illinois and the Tri-State region and we look forward to helping many, many more. To request an application or to obtain more information, please call our business office at 618.253.0251 or 618.253.0281.

Corporate Compliance

Harrisburg Medical Center would like to thank you for using good judgment.

We need your help to ensure that our integrity is never compromised by unlawful activity in the workplace. If you witness questionable activity involving Fraud and Abuse or Code of Conduct, call our toll free number anonymously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Use your best judgment and don’t be afraid to stand up for what’s right.

Privacy Statement For Harrisburg Medical Center

Our Commitment to Privacy

Harrisburg Medical Center is committed to respecting and protecting your privacy as a visitor to our Web site at http://www.HarrisburgMC.com. We take the issue of privacy very seriously and value the trust you place in us each time you use our services and access this Web site. This Privacy Statement describes the practices and policies we have put into place to safeguard your personal and health-related personal information that may be gathered and used as you visit our Web site.

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

The policy may change from time to time so please check back periodically. If you have any questions about our privacy policies, we encourage you to contact us using any of the methods outlined at the end of our Privacy Statement.

Who Is Collecting the Information?

Harrisburg Medical Center is collecting information on this Web site as outlined in this privacy statement.

What Information Do We Collect?

Automatic Collection of Information:
If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the web site or download information, our system will automatically gather and store certain information about your visit. This information does not identify you personally and is used in an aggregate way to help us improve our web site and tell us the number of visitors to our site each day.

• No information is automatically collected at this Web site.

Permission-based Collection of Information:
At different places on our site depending upon the feature you use, you may be asked to volunteer personal and health-related information such as your name, email, mailing address, telephone number, and health history.

• No voluntary (opt-in) information is collected from visitors at this Web site.

How Do We Use the Information We Collect?

The information we gather automatically and with your permission during your visit to our Web site is used in the following ways:

• Monitor, review, measure, and analyze Web site utilization
• Modify and enhance the Web site
• Improve the content and design of our Web site
• Determine the need for new programs and services
• Monitor the changing health information needs of site visitors

With Whom Will the Information Be Shared?

The personally identifiable information gathered during your visit to this Web site is not shared with any organization for any purpose. We do not rent, sell, exchange or in some way provide personally identifiable information to any third-party organization.

Access and Correction of Personal Information

Review of Personal Information
Site visitors may not access information we have collected and maintain about them

Our Use of Cookies

Many Web sites now use "cookies" to provide useful features to their visitors by providing customizable and personalized services.

A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. For example, a Web site may use cookies to store and sometimes track information about you, your preferences, or the pages you last visited.

Your browser software can be set to reject all cookies, or to ask you if you would like to accept or decline a cookie from a particular site before it is set. Most browsers offer instructions on how to reset the browser to reject cookies in the Help section of the toolbar. You should know, however, that if you reject a cookie, certain functions and conveniences of a site may not work properly.

We do not use any cookies to store or collect information on our Web site.

Registration for Access

Some Web sites require you to provide some personal information through a registration process in order to take advantage of certain Web site features and to access content areas. For example, a registration form might request your name, telephone number and e-mail address. You might also be asked to voluntarily provide a list of health topics that you are interested in so your Web site experience

Visitors can use this entire Web site anonymously, without registration.

Our Children's Privacy Policy

We are especially concerned about protecting children's privacy. We hope parents and teachers are involved in children's Internet explorations. It is particularly important for parents to guide their children when children are asked to provide personal information on line.

Our site does not feature information and services of interest to children 13 and under

Interactive Services and Tools

Interactive services tools such as health risk assessments, health-related calculators, and other technology-based features provide Web site users with a richer and more valuable experience. The tools can provide you with information that is customized according to your personal health background and needs.

Some interactive tools may request identifying personal and health-related information in order to function. It is important for you to know how your information will be used when it is requested, for what purposes it may also be used, and if it will be shared with any other party.

This site does not use interactive tools that ask you for identifying and health-related personal information.

Security of Communications

We recognize that many people are concerned about the privacy and protection of information as it is transmitted over the Internet. You should keep in mind that the possibility exists for unauthorized individuals to intercept any email message you send over the Internet. In some cases, information can be encrypted (scrambled or encoded) to make it very difficult to read if it is intercepted during communication. Certain technology and practices allow Web sites to provide an increased level of security for your personal and health-related information when appropriate.

We use the following practices on our Web site to enhance the level of security for communication and the transmission of personal information:

• We are not responsible for the privacy of e-mail messages except those stored in our system.

E-Commerce, On-line Donations, and Online Shopping

Purchasing items or making donations over the Internet usually requires you to provide your personal identifying information and credit card information on a Web site. Many people have become accustomed to on-line commerce as a time-saving and useful convenience. There are a number of practices that can make providing your sensitive credit card information more secure and therefore make you feel more comfortable about doing so.

At this time, we do not process credit card payments for donations, merchandise, or services on our Web site.

Advertising Servers

On-line advertising, such as banner ads, has become commonplace on many Web sites. Certain Web sites have developed relationships with third-party advertising servers to display these advertisements on their sites. By clicking on one of these banner ads, you will be taken to another site with different privacy policies. These third party ad servers may also use cookies to collect non-personal information on your preferences and interests via the advertisement you decide to view.

At this time, we do not partner with or have special relationships with any advertising server companies.

Links to Other Sites

Web sites often provide a number of links that offer direct access to other useful or interesting web sites holding potential value to site visitors. Inclusion of the other sites by links does not imply any endorsement of the material or information on the other sites. Users are encouraged to review the privacy policy of each linked site before sharing personal and health-related information.

This site includes links to non-affiliated external Web sites. We have the following practices:

• We encourage users to review the privacy policy of each linked site, as we cannot be responsible for the privacy practices of other sites.

Changes in Our Privacy Policy

From time to time, we may use customer information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at some time in the future, we have the following practices:

• We will contact you before we use your data for these new purposes to notify you of the policy change and to provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses

Preference for Future Use of Information
You may prevent your information from being used for purposes other than those for which it was originally collected by:

 Web Site Contact Information

If you have questions about our privacy policy, or feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, please contact us.

Harrisburg Medical Center
100 Dr. Warren Tuttle Drive
Harrisburg, IL 62946
Contact: Courtney Drone
E-mail: cdrone@harrisburgmc.com
PH. 618.253.0403

Modification Date

This privacy statement was last modified on August 23, 2011. [HOME]