Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
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Meadow Reproductive Health and Wellness (MRHW) and staff are committed to the protection of the privacy of your health record and the confidentiality of your visit. In accordance with the Federal Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), our commitment to your privacy exceeds the requirements of the law.
Your healthcare record, whether in written, printed or electronic form, and the information it contains will not be disclosed or released to any one outside of MRHW without your written authorization except as allowed by state or federal law.
No one, including your parent or spouse, will be allowed access to your information without your written authorization except when required by law. Whenever possible, the information will be “de-identified,” that means your name, address, and other identifying information will be removed.
Meadow Reproductive Health and Wellness may use your health information for the purpose of:
Help manage the health care treatment you receive
We may use your health information and share it with other professionals at MRHW to determine the best treatment for you. When you choose to give us personal information, we keep it confidential, and solely for scheduling your requested appointment.
Manage and improve our organization
We may use and share information in your health record to assess the care you received and the outcomes for the purpose of our Continuous Quality Improvement Program.
Pay for your health services
If you want to submit a claim to your insurance company for reimbursement, MRHW will do so for you as a courtesy or can assist you in preparing the necessary forms. Many insurance companies include full range reproductive health care in their policies, but your employer may have excluded pregnancy related services or family planning because of recent Supreme court rulings putting the rights of a business above those of their employees. Every policy is different, so please ask your policy’s Customer Service representative.
If your services are being paid in full or in part by a local or national reproductive health fund, MRHW may securely share limited health information with these organizations to improve the quality of their care.
Facilitate Research
MRHW may share information with our insurance company in response to litigation. De-identified statistical information may be released to the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and other organizations to improve the quality of our care. Any outside agency will also be required to safeguard your information.
Disclosures Required by Federal Law
MRHW may be required by federal law to report health information related to adverse events with regard to defective products to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or the Health and Human Services Administration (HHS).
Disclosures Required by State Law
The Commonwealth of Virginia requires reporting of statistical information regarding abortions, including patient age, race, educational status, city or county of residence, and gestational age. You may opt out of providing this information. We will not release your name, address, or any other identifying information.
Help with public health and safety issues
MRHW may be required by law to report health information related to preventing certain communicable diseases, injury or disability.
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
MRHW may be required to report health information in response to a valid subpoena such as in cases of abuse or other crimes.
Meadow Reproductive Health and Wellness will not sell, rent, share, or otherwise disclose mailing lists or other personally identifiable information to any outside organization.
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Your Rights
You have the right to:
Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record
You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
Ask us to correct your medical record:
You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.
Request confidential communications
You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, not leaving voicemail or texts, only calling before a certain time, sending mail to a different address). We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests, but please keep in mind that we cannot share private health information via text/SMS message or standard email. Our patient portal is a secure form of communications that may be used for this purpose.
Ask us to limit the information we use or share
You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if omitting information would affect your care.
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If a service or health care item is paid for in full without utilizing insurance benefits, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your information
You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
Get a copy of this privacy notice
You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated:
You can complain if you feel we have violated your privacy rights by contacting Meadow Reproductive Health and Wellness (703-783-3300) and requesting to speak with the HIPAA Privacy Officer.
If you feel we have been unable to provide satisfactory resolution, you can file a complaint by contacting:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
1-877-696-6775
https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints
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We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Changes to the Terms of this Notice
We can change the terms of this privacy policy, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, or on our website.
Questions? Concerns? Please reach out to our patient privacy liaison at privacy@meadowrepro.org.