[NFBNJ] DHS/CBVI Notice of Privacy Practices

Tue Feb 19 17:51:53 UTC 2019

Greetings to all!
Received from Pamela Gaston, NJ CBVI.
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Joe

We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Raising Expectations To Live The Life You Want!
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or call 855 659 9314

****

        [stateseal]

State of New Jersey

Department of Human Services

P.O. BOX 700

Trenton, NJ  08625-0700

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

Effective Date:  October 15, 2018

This Notice applies to individuals receiving services from the Department of 
Human Services'  Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired and does not 
require your response. 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.

YOUR RIGHTS

  *   Right to see and copy your records. In most cases, you have a right to 
view or get copies of your records. You must make your request in writing. 
We will provide a response to your request within thirty (30) days. You may 
be charged a fee for the cost of copying your records.

  *   Right to an electronic copy of your medical records. If your 
information is maintained in an electronic format, you may request that your 
electronic records be transmitted to you or another individual or entity. We 
will respond to your request within thirty (30) days.

  *   Right to correct or update your records. You may ask us to correct 
your health information if you think there is a mistake. You must make your 
request in writing and provide a reason for your need to correct the 
information.

  *   Right to choose how we communicate with you. You may ask us to share 
information with you in a certain way. For example, you can ask us to send 
information to your work address instead of your home address. You must make 
this request in writing. You don't have to explain a reason for the request. 
We may deny unreasonable requests.

  *   Right to get a list of disclosures. You have a right to ask us for a 
list of disclosures made after April 14, 2003. You must make a request in 
writing. This will not include information shared for treatment, payment or 
health operation purposes. We will provide one accounting a year free of 
charge, but may charge a cost for additional lists provided within the 12 
month period.

  *   Right to get notice of a breach. You have a right to be notified upon 
a breach of any of your protected health information.

  *   Right to request restrictions on uses or disclosures. You have a right 
to ask us to limit how your information is used or shared with others. You 
must make the request in writing and indicate what information should be 
limited. We are not required to agree to a requested restriction. If you 
paid out-of-pocket expenses in full for a specific item or service, you have 
a right to ask that your information with respect to that item or service 
not be disclosed. We will always honor that request.

  *   Right to revoke authorization. If we ask you to sign an authorization 
to use or disclose your information, you can cancel that authorization at 
any time. You must make that request in writing. Your request will not 
affect information that has already been shared.

  *   Right to get a copy of this notice. You have a right to ask for a 
paper copy of this notice at any time

  *   Right to file a complaint. You have a right to file a complaint if you 
don't agree with how we have used or disclosed your information.

  *   Right to choose someone to act for you. If someone has been legally 
designated as your personal representative, that person can exercise your 
rights and make choices about your health.

OUR DUTIES

The Department of Human Services functions as a health care provider for you 
and your family. Consequently, we must collect information about you to 
provide these services.  We are required to protect your information 
according to federal and state law and will abide by the terms of this 
notice. We may use and disclose information without your authorization for 
the following purposes:

  *   Treatment Purposes. We may use or disclose your information to health 
care providers who are involved in your health care.

  *   Payment. We may use or disclose your information to get payment or pay 
for health care services you received or will receive.

  *   Health Care Operations. We may use or disclose your information in 
order to manage our business, improve your care and contact you when 
necessary.

  *   As Required by Law. We will disclose information to a public health 
agency that maintains vital records, such as births, deaths and some 
diseases.

  *   Abuse and Neglect Investigations. We may disclose your information to 
report  all potential cases of abuse and/or neglect.

  *   Health Oversight Activities. We may use or disclose your information 
to respond to an inspection or investigation by state officials.

  *   Government Programs. We may use and disclose your information for the 
management and coordination of public benefits under government programs.

  *   To Avoid Harm. We may use and disclose information to law enforcement 
in order to avoid a serious threat to the health and safety of a person or 
the public.

  *   For Research. We may use and disclose your information for studies and 
to develop reports. These reports will not specifically identify you or 
another person.

  *   Business Associates. We may use and disclose your information to our 
business associates that perform functions on our behalf, if necessary to 
complete those functions.

  *   Organ and Tissue Donation. If you are an organ donor, we may use and 
disclose your information to organizations engaged in procuring, banking or 
the transportation of organs, eyes, or other tissues to facilitate organ 
transplantation.

  *   Military and Veterans. If you are a member of the armed forces, we may 
disclose your information to the appropriate military authority.

  *   Workers Compensation. We may use or disclose your information for 
workers compensation or similar programs providing benefits for work-related 
injuries or illnesses.

  *   Data Breach Notification Purposes. We may use or disclose your 
information to provide legally required notices of unauthorized access or 
disclosure of your health information.

  *   Lawsuits and Disputes. We may use or disclose your information in 
response to a Court or Administrative Order, subpoena, discovery request or 
other lawful process.

  *   Law Enforcement. We may disclose your information to law enforcement 
if the information: 1) is in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant or 
similar process; 2) limited to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, 
material witness or missing person; 3) about a victim of a crime under very 
limited circumstances; 4) about a death potentially resulting from a crime; 
5) about criminal conduct on any DHS property and; 6) is needed in an 
emergency to report a crime or facts surrounding a crime.

  *   Coroner, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. We may disclose your 
information to a Coroner or Medical Examiner to identify a deceased person 
or determine the cause of death. We may release your information to a 
Funeral Director as necessary for their duties.

  *   National Security and Intelligence. We may disclose your information 
to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counter-intelligence and 
other national security activities authorized by law.

  *   Protective Services for the President and Others. We may disclose your 
information to authorized federal officials so that they can provide 
protection to the U.S. President; other authorized persons or foreign heads 
of state, or to conduct special investigations.

  *   Inmates or Individuals in Custody. If you are an inmate, we may 
release your information to a correctional institution if that information 
would be necessary for the institution to: 1) provide you with health care; 
2) protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others or: 3) 
for the safety and security of the correctional institutions.

  *   Disclosure to Family, Friends and Others. We may disclose your 
information to your family members, friends or other persons who are 
involved in your medical care. You may object to the sharing of this 
information. We may also share your information with someone legally 
designated as your personal representative.

  *   Hospital Directory. Unless you notify us that you object, we may 
include certain information about you in the hospital directory in order to 
respond to inquiries from friends, family, clergy and others who inquire 
about you when you are a patient in the hospital.

Other Uses and Disclosures that Require Your Written Authorization

  *   For All Other Situations. We will ask for your written authorization 
before using or disclosing information for any other purpose than what is 
mentioned above. Special circumstances that require an authorization include 
most uses and disclosures of your psychotherapy notes, certain disclosures 
of your test results for the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, uses and 
disclosures of your health information for marketing purposes and for the 
sale of your health information with some exceptions. If you give us 
authorization, you can withdraw this written authorization at any time. To 
withdraw your authorization, please contact us at the number below. If you 
revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your health 
information as allowed by your written authorization, except to the extent 
that we have already relied on your authorization.

  *   As Required by Other Laws. We will ask for your written authorization 
to comply with other laws protecting the use and disclosure of your 
information.

FILING A COMPLAINT

You may use the contact information below if you want to file a complaint or 
to report a problem regarding the use or disclosure of your health 
information. Treatment or services being provided to you will not be 
affected by any complaints you make. DHS opposes any retaliatory acts 
resulting from participation in an HIPAA investigation.

New Jersey Department of Human Services
Commission for the Blind & Visually Impaired
Attention: HIPAA Privacy Officer
153 Halsey Street, 6th floor
Newark, NJ  07101
Phone:  973-648-3333
DHS or its appropriate Division will respond to your communication within 
thirty (30) days.

        [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  Office of Civil 
Rights  200 Independence Ave, S.W., Room 509H  Washington DC, 20201  Phone: 
866-627-7748/ TTY: 886-788-4989  www.hhs.gov/ocr] <http://www.hhs.gov/ocr>

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

In the future, DHS may change its Notice of Privacy Practices. Any change 
could apply to medical information we already have about you, as well as 
information we receive in the future. A copy of a new notice will be posted 
in our facilities/offices and provided to you as required by law. You may 
ask for a copy of our current notice or get it online on our website.

https://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/cbvi/home/index.html

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