Ethics & Patient Rights
Lifespan Joint Privacy Notice
3. How We May Use And Disclose Protected Health Information About
You
The following categories describe and give examples of the different
ways we are permitted or required to use and disclose your protected
health information without first asking your permission or offering
you the opportunity to agree or object. Not every case or disclosure
in a category may be listed. Also, we can release your protected
health information without your permission if we first "de-identify"
it such that the person looking at it will not know it refers to
you.
A. For Treatment—We use your protected health information
to provide, coordinate and manage your health care. This will include
disclosing protected health information about you to doctors, nurses,
technicians, or other health care professionals who care for you,
whether or not they are employed by Lifespan. For example, a doctor
treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes
because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition, the
doctor may need to tell the dietitian you have diabetes so that
we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different health care professionals
also may share your protected health information in order to coordinate
the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and
x-rays. We also may disclose your protected health information to
people outside the hospital. For example, your protected health
information may be provided to a physician to whom you have been
referred so that the physician has the necessary information to
treat you.
B. For Payment—We use your protected health information
in order to bill and collect from you, your insurance company, or
a third party for the services you receive. For example, your insurance
company may need to know about the type of surgery you received
in order to pay us appropriately. We may also use your protected
health information to obtain your insurer's prior approval to provide
you with certain types of care, if your insurer requires us to do
this. Finally, we can disclose your protected health information
for the payment activities of another covered entity or any health
care provider.
C. For Health Care Operations Purposes—As permitted
by Rhode Island law, we use and disclose your protected health information
to support the operations of our organization. This is necessary
to make sure all of our patients receive quality care. For example,
we may use your protected health information to evaluate the performance
of our staff. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses,
technicians, medical students, and other hospital personnel for
review and learning purposes. Also, we can disclose your protected
health information for certain types of health care operations of
another covered entity. If possible, we will remove information
that identifies you.
D. Business Associates—We may disclose your protected
health information to business associates who provide services or
activities on our behalf. For example, we may contract with accreditation
agencies, management consultants, quality assurance reviewers, billing
and collection services, and accountants. To protect your health
information, we require our business associates to sign a written
agreement regarding privacy.
E. As Required by Law—We disclose protected health
information about you when required to do so by federal, state or
local law.
F. Appointment Reminders—We may use and disclose your
protected health information to contact and remind you of your health
care appointments at Lifespan entities.
G. Treatment Alternatives, Benefits and Services—We
may use and disclose protected health information to tell you about
or recommend possible treatment options, health related benefits,
or services that may be of interest to you.
H. Fundraising—We may use or disclose your demographic
information and the dates you receive treatment in order to contact
you for our fundraising purposes. Each of our hospital affiliates
has established a fundraising Foundation that solicits gifts. If
you do not want us to contact you for fundraising you must notify
the hospital's Foundation or the Lifespan Privacy Officer in writing.
If you do not do this, we may use your information as described.
I. To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety—We
may disclose protected health information about you when necessary
to prevent a serious and imminent threat to your health and safety
or to the health and safety of the public or another person. As
permitted by Rhode Island law, we may also release protected health
information to the police in certain cases.
J. Public Health Activities—We may release your protected
health information to appropriate authorities for public health
purposes including, but not limited to, preventing or controlling
disease, injury or disability; to report child abuse or neglect;
to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for activities relating
to quality, safety or effectiveness of FDA regulated products or
activity. We may also release your protected health information
for the public health purpose of alerting a person who may be at
risk of contracting or spreading a communicable disease.
K. Disclosures About Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic
Violence—As permitted by Rhode Island law, we may release
your protected health information in a situation where we believe
you have been a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
In some cases, we may be required by law to release such information.
In other cases, we may not be required to release the information,
but we may choose to release it to appropriate authorities or social
service providers in order to prevent harm to you or another person.
If possible, we will ask you for your permission before we make
the disclosure, or tell you as soon as possible after we make it.
L. Organ and Tissue Donation—If you are an organ donor,
we may release protected health information to organizations that
obtain organ, eye or tissue for donation and transplantation.
M. Limited Disclosures for Research Purposes or For Purposes
Leading Up to Research—We may use and disclose your protected
health information within Lifespan as necessary to prepare for research
studies. For example, a researcher might review your protected health
information while he or she is thinking about how to design a research
study. Also, after a patient's death, it is possible that his or
her protected health information would be used for research purposes.
In most other cases, we will not use your protected health information
for research purposes unless we first explain the research to you
and you consent to participate in the research and you give us permission
to use your protected health information for the research. In some
cases, though, we may use your protected health information for
research without your permission. In order for this to happen, your
information would have to be partially de-identified, or a committee
of people who know about research, privacy and medical ethics would
have to decide that use of your information was necessary and that
it would be of low risk to you and your privacy.
N. National Security and Military—We may disclose your
protected health information to authorized federal officials for
conducting national security and other intelligence activities,
including providing protective services to the President and other
officials. If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release
information about you as required by military command authorities.
O. Workers' Compensation—We may release protected health
information about you for workers' compensation or similar programs
that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
P. Legal Proceedings—We may release protected health
information about you during the course of legal proceedings if
we are ordered to release the information by a court or judge, or
in response to a subpoena issued in the name of a court if the requirements
of Rhode Island law are met.
Q. Law Enforcement—We may release your protected health
information to a law enforcement official for a law enforcement
purpose under the following circumstances: (1) as required by law,
or in response to certain types of court orders, warrants, subpoenas,
demands, requests or other legal process; (2) if the law enforcement
official needs limited information about you because of a reasonable
belief that you pose a danger to yourself, a particular person or
people, or if you are trying to obtain narcotics illegally; (3)
if it is believed you have been the victim of a crime and Rhode
Island law allows us to make the disclosure, although we will try
to ask you before making the disclosure; (4) if you have died and
we think your death involved a criminal act; (5) as permitted by
Rhode Island law, if a crime occurs at Lifespan and we think your
protected health information is evidence of the crime and (6) as
permitted by Rhode Island law, in an emergency health care situation
if necessary to report a crime.
R. Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors—We
may release protected health information to a coroner or medical
examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased
person to determine the cause of death. Following the patient's
death, we may also furnish funeral directors with a standard death
certificate and the information required to go in the certificate.
S. Health Oversight—As permitted by Rhode Island law,
we may disclose your protected health information to governmental
agencies authorized by law to audit, inspect, or investigate the
health care system, government benefit programs, other government
programs and civil rights laws.
T. Inmates—If you are an inmate of a correctional institution
or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we will release
your protected health information only as permitted under Rhode
Island law.
U. Questions of Capacity to Consent—In situations where
you lack capacity to consent, we may use and disclose your protected
health information as permitted by applicable Lifespan policies
and by state law.
Section 4. Other Uses or Disclosures of Your
Protected Health Information 
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