HIPAA Standards for Privacy and Protected Health Information Protecting your health information is your right and our responsibility. Our Notice of Health Information Privacy Practice explains how we work together to ensure your privacy. According to the federal law named “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” (HIPAA), you have rights concerning your health information. Only individuals with a legitimate “need to know” may access patient information. Protected health information may be released to other health care providers without your authorization if it is used for treatment, payment, health care operations, or as permitted by state and federal laws. Release of protected health information other than for treatment, payment, and health care use requires your authorization. The staff at The Medical Center respects your privacy and confidentiality. At admission time you will be asked to name a person that your nurse can talk to about your care and progress. Information and progress updates are not routinely given out over the phone. If a person not identified by you as a contact person calls the nursing unit asking for information about you, they are directed to contact you or a family member for information. While receiving care in the hospital, you may ask for your name to not be included in the hospital directory, which means that people asking for you will be told “I have no information about this patient.” If you want to receive visitors and deliveries of cards and flowers, then you will need your name included in the hospital directory. If you include your name in the hospital directory, your name will also appear on a list for clergy members of your faith. Download a printed copy of our HIPAA Notice of Health Information Privacy Practices, or ask a member of your care team to provide a hard copy.