Privacy Policy
Driftwood Recovery Notice of Privacy Practices
This notice provides information on how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. This notice is provided under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and applies to the billing and payment for those in treatment. Please review this notice carefully.
Driftwood Recovery’s Commitment and Legal Duty
The protections described reflect Driftwood Recovery’s commitment in complying with State and Federal Privacy Laws. Driftwood Recovery is required to maintain the privacy and security of your Personal Health Information (PHI). This notice describes your rights regarding how you may gain access to and control your PHI.
The violation of federal laws and regulations by this program is a crime. If you suspect a violation has occurred, you may file a report to the appropriate authorities in accordance with Federal regulations.
Driftwood Recovery reserves the right to change the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices. Any new Notice of Privacy Practices will be effective for all PHI that we maintain at that time. We will make revised Notice of Privacy Practices available by posting a copy on our website (www.driftwoodrecovery.com), sending a copy in the mail upon request, or providing a copy to you while visiting one of our physical sites.
Potential Use and Disclosures of Health Information
Below are examples of potential uses and disclosures that Driftwood Recovery may make. Any use or disclosure of your PHI requires written authorization. Your authorization may be revoked by you at any time, either written or verbally. Upon discharge, any authorizations to disclose PHI terminate one (1) year from the date of authorization. No information will be disclosed without your express written consent unless required by a medical emergency or in the case of a ‘duty to warn’.
Treatment
Driftwood Recovery may be used and disclosed by your physician, counselor, program staff, and others outside of our program that are involved in your care for the purpose of providing, coordinating, or managing your health care treatment and any related services. This includes coordination or management of your health care with a third party, consultation with other health care providers or referral to another provider for health care treatment. In the event of incapacity or an emergency, Driftwood Recovery reserves the right to disclose medical information based on our professional judgement that is in the best interests of the resident.
Payment
Driftwood Recovery will not use your PHI to obtain payment for your health care services without your written authorization. This includes, but it not limited to, payment-related activities (determination of eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits, reviewing services provided to you for medical necessity, or working with third party insurance providers).
Operations
Driftwood Recovery reserves the right to use or disclose your PHI, as needed, to support the business activities of our program including, but not limited to, licensing and accreditation efforts, quality improvement activities, alumni activities, employee review activities, training of students, licensing, and outcomes or data related activities.
Other Uses Not Requiring Your Authorization
There may be other uses where Driftwood Recovery uses or discloses your PHI to the extent required by law, made in compliance with the law, and limited to the relevant requirements of the law. You will be notified, as required by law, of any such use or disclosure.
Under the law, we must make disclosures of your PHI to you upon your request. In addition, we must make disclosures to the Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose of investigating or determining our compliance with the requirements of the Privacy Rule.
Health Oversight
Driftwood Recovery may disclose PHI to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, and inspections. Oversight agencies seeking this information include government agencies and organizations that provide financial assistance to the program (such as third-party payors) and peer review organizations performing utilization and quality control. If we disclose PHI to a health oversight agency, we will have an agreement in place that requires the agency to safeguard the privacy of your information.
Medical Emergencies
We may use or disclose your PHI in a medical emergency situation to medical personnel only. Our staff will try to provide you a copy of this notice as soon as reasonably possible after the resolution of the emergency.
Child Abuse/Neglect or Elder/Dependent Adult Abuse/Neglect
We may disclose your PHI to a state or local agency that is authorized by law to receive reports of child abuse or neglect. However, the information disclosed is limited to only what is necessary to make the initial mandated report.
Criminal Activity on Program Premises/Against Program Personnel
Driftwood Recovery may disclose PHI to law enforcement officials if you have committed a crime on program premises or against program personnel.
Court Order
Driftwood Recovery may disclose your PHI if the court issues an appropriate order and follows required procedures.
Your Rights
You have the right to inspect and copy your PHI. You may inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI that is contained in a designated record set for as long as we maintain the record. A designated record set contains medical and billing records and any other records that the program uses for making decisions about you.
Your request for records must be in writing. We may charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for the copies. We can deny you access to your PHI in certain circumstances. In some of those cases, you will have a right to appeal the denial of access.
You may have the right to amend your PHI. This request must be in writing. In certain cases, we may deny your request for an amendment. If we deny your request for an amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us. We may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy of it.
You have the right to receive an accounting of some types of PHI disclosures. You may request an accounting of disclosures for a period of up to six years, excluding disclosures made to you, made for treatment purposes, or made as a result of your authorization. We may charge you a reasonable fee if you request more than one accounting in any 12-month period.
You have a right to receive a paper copy of this notice, or have one provided by Driftwood Recovery.
You have the right to request added restrictions on disclosures and uses of your PHI. You have the right to ask us not to use or disclose any part of your PHI for treatment, payment or health care operations or to family members or other members involved in your care. Your request for restrictions must be in writing and we are not required to agree to such restrictions.
You have the right to request confidential communications. You have the right to request confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternative location. We will accommodate reasonable, written requests. We may also condition this accommodation by asking you for information regarding how payment will be handled or specification of an alternative address or other method of contact. We will not ask you why you are making the request.
You have the right to receive notice of a security breach if your PHI has been breached. A breach occurs when there has been an unauthorized use or disclosure under HIPAA that compromises the privacy or security of your PHI. The notice will contain 1) a brief description of the occurrence including the date of the breach and the date of discovery of the breach; 2) the steps you should take to protect yourself from potential harm resulting from the breach; and 3) a brief description of what we are doing to investigate the breach, mitigate losses, and to protect against further breaches.
If you have any questions about your rights or what has been mentioned about, please reach out to the Director of Operations.
Complaints
If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you may file a complaint in writing to:
Driftwood Recovery
Attn: Director of Operations
1905 Elder Hill Rd
Driftwood, TX 78619
(512)527-4185
US Secretary of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201
(202)619-0257
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
One Renaissance Blvd
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
(800)994-6610
Substance Abuse Facility Investigations
PO Box 149347
Austin, TX 78714-9347
Texas State Board of Medical Examiners
1812 Center Creek Dr, Ste 300
Austin, TX 78754
Office of the Attorney General
PO Box 12548
Austin, TX 78711-2548
(512)463-2185
Texas Health and Human Services Commission Hotline:
(800)252-5400