IV. Uses or Disclosures of Information Based Upon Your Verbal Agreement
In the following situations, we may disclose a limited amount of your protected health information if we provide you with an advance oral or written notice and you do not object to such release or such release is not otherwise prohibited by law. However, if there is an emergency situation and you are unable to object (because you were not present or you were incapacitated, etc.), disclosure may be made if it is consistent with any prior expressed wishes and disclosure is determined to be in your best interest. When a disclosure is made based on these or emergency situations, we will only disclose health information relevant to the person’s involvement in your care. You will be informed and given an opportunity to object to further disclosures of such information as soon as you are able to do so.  We may disclose your protected health information to your family members and friends who are involved in your care or who help pay for your care.  We may also disclose your protected health information to a disaster relief organization for the purposes of notifying your family and/or friends about your general condition, location, and/or status (i.e., alive or dead).  You may object to the release of this information.  The name, address, and telephone number of the person to whom you may make your objection is listed on the last page of this document.

V. Uses and Disclosures of Information That Do Not Require Your Consent or Authorization
State and federal laws and regulations either require or permit us to use or disclose your protected health information without your consent or authorization. The uses or disclosures that we may make without your consent or authorization include the following: When Required by Law: We may disclose your protected health information when a federal, state or local law requires that we report information about suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, reporting adverse reactions to medications or injury from a health care product, or in response to a court order or subpoena. For Public Health Activities for the Purpose of Preventing or Controlling Disease, Injury or Disability: We may disclose your protected health information when we are required to collect information about diseases or injuries (e.g., your exposure to a disease or your risk for spreading or contracting a communicable disease or condition, product recalls, or to report vital statistics (e.g., births/deaths) to the public health authority). For Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your protected health information to a health oversight agency such as a protection and advocacy agency, the state agency responsible for inspecting our facility or to other agencies responsible for monitoring the health care system for such purposes as reporting or investigation of unusual incidents or to ensure that we are in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations and civil rights issues. To Coroners, Medical Examiners, Funeral Directors, Organ Procurement Organizations or Tissue Banks: We may disclose your protected health information to a coroner or medical examiner for the purpose of identifying a deceased individual or to determine the cause of death. We may also disclose your health information to a funeral director for the purposes of carrying out your wishes and/or for the funeral director to perform his/her necessary duties. If you are an organ donor, we may disclose your protected health information to the organization that will handle your organ, eye or tissue donation for the purposes of facilitating your organ or tissue donation or transplantation. For Research Purposes: We may disclose your protected health information for research purposes only when a privacy board has approved the research project and established procedures to ensure the protection of your health information. To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may disclose your protected health information to avoid a serious threat to your health or safety or to the health or safety of others. When such disclosure is necessary, information will only be released to those law enforcement agencies or individuals that have the ability or authority to prevent or lessen the threat of harm. For Specific Government Functions: We may disclose protected health information of military personnel and veterans, when requested by military command authorities, to authorized federal authorities for the purposes of intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities (such as protection of the President), or to correctional institutions.

VI. Your Rights Regarding Your Protected Health Information
You have the following rights concerning the use or disclosure of your protected health information that we create or that we may maintain on our premises: The right to inspect and copy your medical and billing records; The right to amend or correct your health information; The right to request confidential communications of protected health information; The right to request an accounting of disclosures of protected health information; and the right to receive a paper copy of this notice.

VII. How to File a Complaint About Our Privacy Practices
If you have reason to believe that we have violated your privacy rights, violated our privacy policies and procedures, or you disagree with a decision we made concerning access to your protected health information, etc., you have the right to file a complaint with us or the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Complaints may be filed without fear of retaliation in any form. The name, address, and telephone number of the person to whom you may file your complaint is listed on the last page of this document.

VIII. Changes or Revisions to our Privacy Notice
We reserve the right to change our facility’s Privacy Notice at any time and to make the revised or changed notice effective for health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future about you. Should we revise or change our Privacy Notice, we will post a copy of the new or revised notice in our main lobby. You may obtain a copy of the new/revised Privacy Notice by contacting the HIPAA Compliance Officer or download a copy from our web site.

Our Privacy Notice was revised on 2/1/2005.

Contact:

HIPAA Compliance Officer
1315 Boughton Drive
Bakersfield, CA 93308
Toll free: 1(800) 879-8866
Phone: (661) 410-3000
Fax: (661) 387-7141