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Summary of Haywood Regional Medical Center's
Notice of Privacy Practices

The complete Privacy Notice is posted throughout the Medical Center. In addition, you are entitled to a paper copy of the complete privacy notice upon your request. You may ask the admitting representative or your HRMC health care provider for your copy. You may obtain a copy of this notice at our website, www.haymed.org. We reserve the right to change the notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as information we receive in the future.

The privacy notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by the Medical Center. Your personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor’s use and disclosure of your medical information created in the doctor’s office or clinic.

The privacy notice will tell you how we use and disclose medical information about you. It also describes your rights and certain obligations regarding the use and disclosure of medical information. All Medical Center sites and locations may share medical information with each other for treatment, payment, or Medical Center operations purposes.

This is a summary of how we may use medical information about you to:

• provide medical treatment or services,
• bill for and receive payment for treatment you have received at HRMC, including workers' compensation,
• review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you; comply with health oversight activities,
• decide what additional services the Medical Center should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective,
• assist with teaching and learning for doctors, and other healthcare professionals, and healthcare students,
• remind you of an appointment,
• assist a foundation related to the Medical Center so that the foundation may contact you in raising money for the Medical Center,
• include you in the directory while you are a patient. Your religious affiliation will be given to a member of the clergy unless you object,
• assist persons who are involved in your medical care,
• comply with federal, state, and local law, military authority or to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person,
• protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; or for the safety and security of the correctional institution for inmates

This is a summary of your right to:

• inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make medical decisions about your care,
• request an amendment of your record,
• request an accounting of disclosures of medical information,
• request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we disclose about you for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations,
• request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location,
• file a complaint with the Medical Center or the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated: You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.