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Health Information Management – Medical Records

Kittson Healthcare System is dedicated to ensuring the privacy and safety of our patients and their information. Our Health Information Management (HIM) department is in place to provide the release of medical records at the patient’s discretion, or as needed by other requestors.

To request a copy of your medical records, please download the authorization form developed by the Minnesota Department of Health and return it to Kittson Healthcare System. Please allow one week for processing. If you need your records sooner, please call (218) 843-3811. You can also fax a copy to (218) 843-8879.

HIPAA

It is the intent of Kittson Healthcare System to safeguard and protect the privacy and security of its patients, applicants and employees “protected health information” as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”).
“Protected health information” includes individually identifiable information maintained or transmitted through any medium, relating to an individual’s past, present, or future physical or mental health or healthcare. Health information is considered “individually identifiable” if it either identifies a person by name or creates a reasonable basis to believe the individual could be identified (through identifiers such as address, social security number, dates of service, telephone number, email address, or vehicle identification number).

Notice of Privacy Practices

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of Kittson Healthcare’s responsibilities to help you.

Your Rights

Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record:

• You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
• We will provide a copy of a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your medical record

• You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
• We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications

• You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
• We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care.
• Share information in a disaster relief situation
• Include your information in a hospital directory
• Contact you for fundraising efforts.

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

In the case of fundraising:

• We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your health information? We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.

Treat you

• We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.
• Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.

Run our organization

• We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.

Bill for your services

• We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans and other entities.
• Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

Our Responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information, see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the Terms of this Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website.

This Notice of Privacy Practices applies to the following organizations:

Kittson Healthcare

Kittson Healthcare Nursing Home

Kittson Healthcare Clinics

Kittson Healthcare Ambulance Service

Kittson Healthcare Home Healthcare and River’s Edge Assisted Living