Privacy

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have the right to:

How We May Use or Disclose Information About You

We use or share information to:

Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

• Reporting births and deaths
• Preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability
• Helping with product recalls
• Reporting adverse reactions to medications or problems with products
• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone's health or safety
• Disclosing deidentified SUD information to public health authorities

Comply with the law

We will share your health information as required by State or federal law.

Work with the medical examiner or funeral director

We can share your information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral directors, as necessary.

Do research

We can use and share your health information for health research, if a special board permits us to.

Address workers' compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests

We can use or share health information about you:

• For workers' compensation claims or similar programs
• For certain, limited law enforcement purposes
• With government agencies responsible for health oversight
• For special government functions such as national security and presidential protective services.
• In response to a court or administrative order, or a subpoena.
• If you are an inmate of the correctional institution or in custody of a law enforcement official, we may share with the correctional institution or other law enforcement for purposes such as protecting your safety or the safety of others.

Health Information Exchange

• We participate in a Health Information Exchange (HIE).
• A HIE is an electronic system that allows participating health care providers to share patient information in compliance with federal and state privacy laws.
• Unless you notify us or otherwise make your objection known, we will share your health information electronically with your participating health care providers as necessary for treatment. This includes SUD information received with your consent.
• Patient health information that currently, by law, requires your signed authorization for release WILL NOT be transmitted to the HIE without your additional consent.
• You can opt out of being included in an HIE at any time by contacting your provider's office.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Patient Communications

We may use technology tools, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), to assist our workforce with administrative and clinical support functions. If we use generative AI to generate written or verbal communications to you that pertain to your clinical information, we will either:

• Have the communication read and reviewed by a human licensed or certified health care provider before it is provided to you; or
• If the communication is not read and reviewed by a human licensed or certified health care provider, include (1) a clear disclosure that the communication was generated by generative AI and (2) clear instructions describing how you may contact a human health care provider, employee, or other appropriate person.

We may use AI solutions in connection with treatment, payment, and health care operations. For purposes of this Notice, "AI solutions" mean software or computerized tools that can generate outputs (such as summaries, draft text, recommendations, or other content) based on patterns learned from data and/or programmed rules.

How we may use AI solutions

We may use AI solutions, as permitted by law, to support activities such as:

• Assisting members of our workforce with reviewing and summarizing information in your health record.
• Preparing draft clinical documentation (for example, draft notes or draft care plans) for review by your health care providers.
• Supporting administrative functions that are part of health care operations (for example, quality improvement, patient safety activities, care coordination, internal auditing, training of our workforce, and similar operational activities).

Clinician responsibility and oversight

AI solutions are intended to assist our workforce. Your health care providers remain responsible for clinical decisions, and information generated by an AI solution may be reviewed, edited, accepted, or rejected by appropriate personnel in accordance with our policies and professional standards.

Use and disclosure to outside service providers

We may use AI solutions that are provided by third parties. When we use third parties to help us operate our programs or provide services, we may share health information with them as needed for them to perform services on our behalf, consistent with applicable privacy and security requirements.

Limits

We do not use AI solutions to sell your health information. We do not use your health information for marketing in connection with AI solutions unless allowed by law or you authorize us to do so. If you have questions about our use of AI solutions, you may contact the County Privacy Office using the contact information provided in this Notice.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can choose what we share. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will do our best to follow your instructions.

Our Responsibilities and Notices

• We are committed and required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know of any breach that may have compromised the privacy or security of your protected health information (PHI).
• We must follow the terms of this notice and give you a copy of it to inform you of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI. Except in an emergency treatment situation, we will make a good faith effort to obtain a written acknowledgment of receipt of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
• A single consent may be used for all future uses and disclosures of your health information.
  • You may revoke your consent at any time by letting us know in writing. However, we can't unuse or unrelease information that was released when your consent was valid such as if you gave us permission to disclose your information to obtain insurance coverage.
• For "Part 2" substance use disorder treatment records:
  • Records, or testimony relaying the content of such records, shall not be used or disclosed in any civil, administrative, criminal, or legislative proceedings against the patient unless based on specific written consent or a court order;
  • Records shall only be used or disclosed based on a court order after notice and an opportunity to be heard is provided to the patient or the holder of the record, where required by 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2 and this part; and
  • A court order authorizing use or disclosure must be accompanied by a subpoena or other similar legal mandate compelling disclosure before the record is used or disclosed.
• Records that are disclosed to a part 2 program, covered entity, or business associate pursuant to the patient's written consent for treatment, payment, and health care operations may be further disclosed by that part 2 program, covered entity, or business associate, without the patient's written consent, to the extent the HIPAA regulations permit such disclosure.
• For additional information about this Notice, contact the County's Privacy Officer using the contact information below.

Privacy Complaint Contacts