Ballston Lake EMS & You: Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy

This policy describes how medical information may be used and disclosed and how you may have access to this information.

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact our President or Privacy Officer at (518) 399-7066.

The Ballston Lake Emergency Squad cares about protecting its patients and client patients privacy. In accordance with the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996, Ballston Lake will provide you with an explanation of your rights as a patient, information as to how certain data may be used, and the procedures for acquiring your patient Prehospital Care Report (PCR), and any other appropriate data.

Who Will Follow this Notice

Any Ballston Lake staff member or any firm contracted to provide billing or Quality Improvement support will follow these guidelines.

We Are Required By law To

Insure that any medical information that identifies you is kept private, to give you notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to the information about you, and follow the guidelines of our most recent policy in effect.

Collection of Information

We collect and retain information necessary for us to provide the services you requested or utilized from us.  During our interaction with you or a family member, we may collect non-public information from you because of an injury or an illness. This information will be kept on a PCR and will be maintained in privacy. While we collect information for Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement purposes, any personal content will be removed.

Sharing of Information

We may share information with certain departments within a hospital, with EMS agency personnel that generated the PCR or had provided patient care, legal representatives acting on your behalf or family members regarding your benefits and health coverage in order to comply with legal or regulatory requirements.

Our Pricvacy Policy Cont.

How We May Disclose and Use Medical Information About You

We may use medical information about you to provide you with treatment or services.

We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, healthcare providers who are involved in taking care of you. Ballston Lake staff will document all medical information on a PCR, which will be maintained in privacy.

Unless precluded by law, we may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your care

We will disclose medical information about you when required by federal, state or local law.

We may use and disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure would only to responsible parties able to help prevent the threat.

We may release medical information in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons, or similar process, to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.

We may also release medical information about the victim of a crime if, under certain circumstances, we are unable to obtain the persons agreement.

We may release medical information about a death we believe to be the result of criminal conduct and in emergency circumstances to report a crime or victims, or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime.

We may release medical information about you, if you are member of armed forces, as required by military command authorities.

We may release medical information to a minor about his or her treatment without parental notification in certain circumstances or when the minor is emancipated.

We may release medical information about you to authorized federal authorities for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities as authorized by law.

We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities, that generally include the following: to prevent or control disease, injury or disability; to report deaths or births; to report child abuse or neglect; to report reactions to medications or problems with products; to notify people of product recalls they may be using; to notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition; to notify the appropriate governmental authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

Finally, we may release medical information about you for workers compensation or similar programs.

Internal Protection of Information

We will restrict access to non-public personal information about you to those members who have a need to know.

Disclosure of Ballston Lake Privacy Policy

This notice will be provided to you for informational purposes and may be amended or updated as required. Copies of this policy are available at the Ballston Lake Emergency Squad, Inc., PO Box 1005, Ballston lake, NY, 12019.

Patient Rights and Access

All patients have the right to access their patient health information. You may request to amend your records and or request a copy of you PCR, which must be submitted in writing. If you have any questions about your PCR, you may contact us at 518-399-7066 during normal business hours.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint. On behalf of the Ballston Lake Emergency Squad, we thank you for your cooperation.