William C. Earhart Co., Inc.
HIPAA Privacy Notice

Effective Date: December 31, 2022

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.

The protection of confidential healthcare information is a legal requirement. The William C. Earhart Co., Inc. collects and maintains a great deal of Protected Health Information (PHI). Disclosing confidential information is an invasion of privacy and a violation of the Privacy regulations contained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. The law is effective April 14, 2003 .

We want to tell you about our privacy and the practices we use to protect your personal health information.

How we use health information

William C. Earhart Co., Inc. uses your health information to pay providers and others who provide you with services and to conduct normal health care operations. Examples of how we use your information include:

Payment – refers to activities by a plan to obtain contributions and provide coverage and benefits. It includes determination of eligibility or providing eligibility such as to a provider, processing of claims, billing, claims management, utilization review and coordination of benefits.

Treatment – refers to patient care and coordination of care between providers or management of care such as between provider and utilization review or consultation and referrals among providers such as sharing of information between diabetes programs and the patient’s providers.

Health Care Operation – refers to activities related to health plan functions such as auditing, training, setting of rates, arranging for medical review, appeal resolution, vendor evaluation and legal services.

Information that is used/disclosed is limited to the “Minimum Necessary” to accomplish the intended purpose. For example, if treatment notes for a particular office visit are needed to determine benefits, we would only ask for the notes for the visit in question, not all of the treatment notes.

Information we share

There are limited times when we are permitted or required to disclose health information without your signed permission. These situations are:

• To protect victims of abuse or neglect for federal and state health oversight activities.
• For judicial or administrative proceedings
• If required by law or for law enforcement
• To coroners or medical examiner to identify deceased or cause of death
• For specialized government functions such as national security for individuals who are in the Armed Forces or individuals in correctional facilities.
• To Workers’ Compensation, if you are injured at work

All other uses and disclosures not previously described, may only be made with your signed authorization. You may revoke your authorization at any time.

Our Responsibilities

The William C. Earhart Co., Inc. is required by law to:

• Maintain the privacy of your health information
• Provide this notice of our duties and privacy practices
• Abide by the terms of the notice currently in effect.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Request that we restrict how we use or disclose your protected health information (PHI).
• Request confidential communications when communication contains PHI*
• Inspect and copy your health information (fees will apply).*
• Request accounting and disclosure of how your health information was disclosed (excludes disclosures for treatment, payment, healthcare operations, as well as disclosures that you authorize).*
• Request to amend your health information.

*Requests must be in writing.

Changes To This Notice

We reserve the right to change this notice, and to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post the current notice at our location(s) with its effective date in the top left-hand corner. You are entitled to a copy of the notice currently in effect.

We will inform you of any significant changes to this Notice. This may be through a notice posted on our web site or other means of communication.

If you would like to exercise your rights, or if you feel your privacy rights have been violated, or if you need more information, please contact the proper Privacy Officer listed below in writing:

HIPAA Privacy Officer

Pamela Howard
503-331-8209
William C. Earhart Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 4148
Portland Oregon 97208