brevard achievement center

Notice of Privacy Practices

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as amended, established a Privacy Rule to protect health information (PHI) that is individually identifiable and is maintained or transmitted in any form or medium by a covered entity. The following is a brief overview.

The Privacy Rule

In general terms, the Rule governs how your protected health information can be used and disclosed. Simply, your PHI may be used and disclosed where it is permitted under the Privacy Rule, when it is mandated under another law, or when you specifically authorize a use or disclosure. And, with certain exceptions, the amount of information disclosed must be restricted to the minimum amount necessary to accomplish the intended purpose of the disclosure.

Your Individual Rights

1. You may request special privacy protection of your PHI. For example, you can specify that your PHI not be disclosed to a family member or to a particular member of our staff; or you might ask us to send PHI communications by an alternative means or locations (e.g., via voice-message, e-mail, an address other than your residence). [Notes: We are not required to agree; but if we do agree, we must comply with it. You are not authorized to re-direct your personal mail to BAC.]
2. You may inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI.
3. You may request to amend your PHI if you believe it is incorrect or incomplete. We may deny your request if your request is incomplete; the information was not created by us (unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment); is not part of the PHI kept by or for our organization; is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or is accurate and complete. We reserve the right to disclose any amendment we make to your PHI to those with whom we disclose information as previously specified. If we deny an amendment, you have the right to file a written statement disagreeing with our denial.
4. You may request a list of the PHI disclosures made during the previous six years. This, however, does not include disclosures to carry out treatment, payment and health care operations, those authorized by you, or for those uses and disclosures permitted by law. The request may not include dates before April 14, 2003.
5. You may authorize the use and disclosure of your PHI, as permitted. And, you may revoke a previously executed authorization unless we have already acted in reliance of that authorization, or if the authorization was obtained as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage or as otherwise provided by law. This means, in part, that we are unable to take back disclosures we have already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain and use our records on the care and services we have provided to you.
6. You may request a copy of this notice from the Chief Information Officer at anytime. You may elect to have the copy be provided to you electronically or in paper format.

In addition to your individual rights, HIPAA also imposes other responsibilities on a covered entity.

We do reserve the right to change our records policy and this Notice. We also reserve the right to make the revision or change effective for the protected health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. A copy of the current Notice will be posted in our Rockledge facility and on our website.

If you have questions about this Notice; our privacy practices; elect to submit a request as provided under our records policy; need to have this Notice provided in a format that may reasonably accommodate or facilitate your understanding; or you believe that your rights under the Privacy Rule have been violated, please direct your comments to Brevard Achievement Center; Attention Privacy Officer; 1845 Cogswell Street; Rockledge, Florida 32955. Your comments may also be submitted by e-mail (privacy@bacbrevard.com) or by facsimile (321-639-5087). If you are submitting a complaint, your message should provide details about the data release (e.g., what information was released by whom, when, where, how, the recipient(s) of that information, as well as noting any consequences that may have resulted), your contact information, and any input you believe is relevant for our evaluation. We will provide you with our response, the requested copies or disclosure list within 20 business days from receipt of your written request/complaint, or notify you if we are unable to do so within this time period and by what date we can supply the copies. (Note: The revised date will be 60 days or less from the receipt date of your original request). If you request any copies, there will be a fee charged to you to cover the associated costs.