Every time you visit LRO, we create a record of the care and services you receive and plans for future care. This information is called Protected Health Informationor PHI for short. This Notice of Privacy Practices (Notice) will tell you about the ways we may use and share your PHI.  We also describe your rights and certain duties we have regarding the use and disclosure (sharing) of your PHI.

We are required to:

• Keep your health information (PHI) private.

• Give you this Notice describing our legal duties, privacy practices, your right regarding your PHI and how we may use or disclose this information.

• Follow the terms of this Notice that is currently in effect.

We have the right to:

• Change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided that the changes are permitted by law.

• Make the changes in our privacy practices effective for all PHI we maintain.

• Before we make an important change in our privacy practice, we will change this Notice and make the new Notice available upon request.

You have the right to:

• Obtain a paper copy of this Notice upon request.  You will receive a copy of this Notice at your first visit to LRO.

• Ask to see or obtain a copy of your PHI.  You must make this request in writing.  We will respond to your request within 30 days.  We may charge a fee for copying and mailing costs.  In some situations we may deny your request.  If we do, we will tell you, in writing, our reasons for the denial.  You may request a review of the denial.

• Request that we change your PHI if you think it contains a mistake or is missing important information. You must make your request in writing and explain the reasons for your request.  We will respond to your request within 60 days.  If we approve your request, we will change your PHI and tell you that we made the change.  We will also tell others who need to know about the change to your PHI.  We may deny your request if we did not create the information you want changed or for certain other reasons.  If we deny your request, we will provide you a written explanation.  We will also explain that you can write a statement of disagreement or you can ask us to attach your request and our denial to all future disclosures of your PHI.

• Receive a list of all the times we shared your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment and LRO operations.  We are not required to list all disclosures.  For example, the list will not include disclosures to you or authorized by you; to your family, friends or others or disclosures made before April 14, 2003.   This request must be made in writing stating a time period not longer than six (6) years.

• Request that we communicate with you about your PHI in a different way or send it to a different address.  Your request must be made in writing.

• Request that we NOT use your PHI for treatment, payment or health care operations.  You must make your request in writing.  We will review your request but we are not required to agree to it.  If we agree to the request, we will honor it, except in an emergency.  We may later decide to end the agreement.  If we do, we will tell you of our decision.

We use and disclose PHI for different reasons.  The following categories describe different ways that we may use and disclose PHI. For each category, we will try to give some examples.  Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed.  

FOR TREATMENT: We may disclose PHI about you to LRO doctors, nurses, and radiation therapists who are involved in your treatment.  We may also share health information about you to health care providers outside our facility who may be involved in your care, for example, when a LRO physician orders lab or x-ray tests.

FOR PAYMENT:  We may use and disclose your PHI in order to bill and collect payment for your health care services at LRO.  We may share your PHI with the LRO physicians billing service to assist in their billing and collection efforts.  We may also disclose your PHI to third parties for collection of payment.

FOR HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS:  We may use and disclose your PHI in the course of operating our facility. This might include measuring and improving quality, evaluating the performance of employees, conducting training programs and getting the accreditation, certificates, licenses and credentials we need to serve you.  We may also disclose your PHI to our transcription services who type our reports on the care you received at LRO.

We may use and disclose your PHI without your authorization for the following reasons:

Law Enforcement, or When Required by Law or a Court Order:  We will use and disclose your PHI when we are required to do so by federal, state or local law.

Research:  With the approval of the Institutional Review Board, we may disclose your PHI to medical researchers.

To Avoid Harm:  To avoid a serious threat to the health or safety of a person or the public, we may provide PHI to the police or other persons who can prevent or lesson the threat.

Organ and Tissue Donation:  We will release PHI to a designated organ donor program as required by law.

National Security:  We may disclose PHI to federal officials who conduct intelligence operations or protect the President of the United States.

Public Health Risks:  We will disclose PHI when we are required to collect information about disease or injury, or to report vital statistics, or abuse to the public health authority.  An example might be reporting the abuse or neglect of a dependent adult.

Health Oversight:  We may disclose PHI to assist the government with health care investigations or inspections.

Funeral Arrangements:  We may disclose PHI to funeral directors or medical examiners as needed to carry out their duties. 

WorkersCompensation:  We may disclose PHI as required by Hawaii Workers Compensation laws.

To Provide Appointment Reminders and Information about Healthcare Services:  We may call or send a letter to remind you that you have an appointment or that its time to schedule an appointment.  We may also contact you to let you know about other health care services or treatments.

DISCLOSURES TO FAMILY, FRIENDS,  OTHERS:  Unless you tell us not to, we may disclose your PHI to a family member, friend or other person who is involved in your care or payment for your care.  For example, if your neighbor drives you to and from appointments, we will let your neighbor know when your treatment will be finished.

Exception:  If you need emergency treatment or if you are unable to communicate (for example, if you are unconscious or in a lot of pain), we may disclose your PHI to a family member or friend if we think the disclosure is in your best interest.  When the emergency is over or you are able to communicate, you may inform us of your wishes.

Your authorization is required on all other uses and disclosures not stated in this Notice.

If, after signing an authorization form, you change your mind, you can ask us to stop any future uses or disclosures.  You must make your request in writing.  We will honor your request but we can not undo any of the uses or disclosures we made, based upon your signed authorization form, before we received your request.

If you think that your privacy rights have been violated, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your PHI, you may contact our Privacy Officer.  The Privacy Officers address and phone number are listed below.

Or you may send a written complaint to the Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights.  Our Privacy Officer can give you the address.

You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

Joan McGarry-Nakayama

Leeward Radiation Oncology

91-2135 Fort Weaver Rd. B120

Ewa Beach, HI  96706

808-678-9000

email:  joan@lrohawaii.com