Notice of Privacy Practices

A. How Diamond Respiratory Care may use or disclose your health information

Diamond collects health information and stores it in our electronic records systems. This is your medical record. The medical record is the property of Diamond, but the information in it belongs to you. The law permits us to use or disclose your health information for:

1. Treatment

   We use information to provide equipment, supplies, and related services. We disclose to employees and others involved in your care — for example, your prescribing physician, other providers, a pharmacy dispensing medications related to your equipment, or a lab. We may also disclose to family or others who can help you when you are sick or injured, or after you die.

2. Payment

   We use and disclose information to obtain payment for equipment and services we provide — for example, giving your health plan (including Medicare and Medi-Cal) the information it requires before it will pay us. We may also disclose to other providers to help them obtain payment for services they provided to you.

3. Health Care Operations

   To operate our business — reviewing and improving quality of care, competence and qualifications of staff, obtaining authorization for equipment/services/referrals, medical reviews, legal services and audits including fraud and abuse detection and compliance, and business planning. We may share with “business associates” such as our billing service under written contracts requiring them and their subcontractors to protect confidentiality and security. We may also share with other providers, clearinghouses, or health plans that have a relationship with you when they request it for quality assessment, patient safety, population health, protocol development, case management, competence review, training, accreditation, or fraud and abuse compliance.

4. Appointment, delivery, and “Sorry We Missed You” reminders

   We may use and disclose information to contact you about scheduled deliveries, equipment setups, service appointments, and supply reorders. If you are not home, we may leave this on voicemail or with the person answering the phone, or leave a tag on your front door if we attempt a delivery and you are not home.

5. Notification and communication with family

   We may disclose to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or person responsible for your care about your location, general condition or, unless you instruct otherwise, in the event of death. In a disaster we may disclose to a relief organization to coordinate notifications. We may also disclose to someone involved with your care or who helps pay for it. If you are able to agree or object we will give you that opportunity; in a disaster we may disclose even over objection if needed to respond to emergency circumstances. If you are unable or unavailable, we use best judgment.

6. Marketing

   Provided we do not receive payment for the communication, we may contact you about products/services related to treatment, case management, or care coordination, or to recommend other treatments, therapies, providers, or settings that may be of interest; describe our products/services and which health plans we participate in; encourage healthy lifestyle, recommended tests, disease management participation, provide small gifts, tell you about government-sponsored health programs, or encourage you to purchase a product/service when we see you (for which we may be paid). We may receive compensation covering our cost of reminding you to take and refill medication or communicate about a currently prescribed drug or biologic. Otherwise we will not use/disclose your information for marketing or accept payment for other marketing without your prior written authorization disclosing whether we receive compensation; we will stop future marketing to the extent you revoke it.

7. Sale of health information

   We will not sell your health information without your prior written authorization disclosing that we will receive compensation and that we will stop future sales to the extent you revoke it.

8. Required by law

   As required by law we will use and disclose your information, limited to the relevant requirements. When the law requires reporting abuse, neglect or domestic violence, or responding to judicial/administrative proceedings or law enforcement, we further comply with the requirements below.

9. Public health

   We may, and are sometimes required to, disclose to public health authorities for preventing/controlling disease, injury or disability; reporting child, elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect; domestic violence; FDA product/medication problems; and disease/infection exposure. When reporting elder/dependent adult abuse or domestic violence we will inform you or your personal representative promptly unless in our best professional judgment notification would place you at risk of serious harm or would require informing a personal representative we believe is responsible for the abuse.

10. Health oversight activities

    We may, and are sometimes required to, disclose to health oversight agencies during audits, investigations, inspections, licensure and other proceedings, subject to legal limitations.

11. Judicial and administrative proceedings

    We may disclose in any administrative or judicial proceeding to the extent expressly authorized by court or administrative order. We may also disclose in response to subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process if reasonable efforts were made to notify you and you have not objected, or objections have been resolved by court/administrative order.

12. Law enforcement

    We may disclose to a law enforcement official to identify/locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, comply with a court order, warrant, grand jury subpoena and other law enforcement purposes, as required by law.

B. When Diamond may not use or disclose your health information

Except as described in this Notice, Diamond will, consistent with legal obligations, not use or disclose health information that identifies you without your written authorization. If you do authorize use/disclosure for another purpose, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.

C. Your health information rights

1. Right to request special privacy protections

   You may request restrictions on certain uses/disclosures by written request specifying what to limit and what limitations to impose. If you tell us not to disclose to your commercial health plan concerning items/services you paid in full out-of-pocket, we will abide unless we must disclose for treatment or legal reasons. We reserve the right to accept or reject other requests and will notify you of our decision.

2. Right to request confidential communications

   You may request to receive information in a specific way or location — e.g., a particular e-mail account or work address. We will comply with all reasonable written requests specifying how/where to receive communications.

3. Right to inspect and copy

   You have the right to inspect and copy your health information, with limited exceptions. Submit a written request detailing what to access, whether to inspect or copy, and preferred form/format. We provide copies in your requested form/format if readily producible, otherwise an acceptable alternative, or if we maintain the record electronically, your choice of readable electronic or hardcopy. We will also send a copy to any person you designate in writing. We charge a reasonable fee for labor, supplies, postage, and if agreed in advance, preparing an explanation/summary. We may deny under limited circumstances. If we deny access to a child’s or incapacitated adult’s records due to substantial harm risk, you have a right to appeal.

4. Right to amend or supplement

   You may request amendment if you believe information is incorrect or incomplete — in writing with reasons. We are not required to change it and will inform you of denial and how to disagree. We may deny if we do not have the information, did not create it (unless creator is no longer available), you would not be permitted to inspect/copy it, or it is accurate and complete as is. If denied you may submit a written disagreement and we may prepare a rebuttal. All amendment-related information is maintained and disclosed with subsequent disclosures of the disputed information.

5. Right to an accounting of disclosures

   You have a right to an accounting of disclosures, except we do not have to account for disclosures to you or pursuant to your authorization, or as described in paragraphs 1 (treatment), 2 (payment), 3 (operations), 5 (family notification) and 16 (specialized government functions) of Section A, or for research/public health excluding direct identifiers, or incident to an otherwise permitted/authorized use, or to a health oversight agency or law enforcement where notice was received that providing the accounting would impede their activities.

6. Right to a paper or electronic copy of this notice

   You have a right to notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, including a paper copy even if you previously requested e-mail. For a more detailed explanation or to exercise any right, contact our Privacy Officer at the top of this notice.

Changes to this Notice of Privacy Practices

We reserve the right to amend this Notice at any time. Until amended, we are required to comply with the current terms. After amendment, the revised Notice applies to all protected health information we maintain, regardless of when created or received. We keep a copy posted in our reception area and available upon request. We also post the current notice on our website at www.diamondrx.com.

Complaints

Complaints about this Notice or how Diamond handles your health information should be directed to our Privacy Officer at the top of this Notice.

If you are not satisfied, you may submit a formal complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights:

• Email: OCRMail@hhs.gov
• Complaint form: hhs.gov/ocr/complaints