2. Emergencies or Serious Threats/Public Need
As permitted by applicable law and standards of ethical conduct, we may use and disclose protected health information if we, in good faith, believe that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or to the public. We will not be required to obtain your general written consent before using or disclosing your information for these reasons. We will, however, obtain your
written authorization for, or provide you with an opportunity to object to, the use and disclosure of your health information in these situations when state law specifically requires that we do so.
Emergencies. We may use or disclose your health information in order to treat you, to obtain payment for that treatment and to conduct our business operations if you need emergency treatment or if we are required by law to treat you but are unable to obtain your general written consent as soon as we reasonably can after we treat you.
Law Enforcement. We may disclose your health information to law enforcement officials for the following reasons: to comply with a court order, warrant, subpoena or law that we are required to follow; to locate a suspect, fugitive, or missing person; to report a crime that occurred in this facility; to take protective action ( which, if applicable under the law, may include notifying the police, warning the intended victim and/or seeking the patient’s hospitalization) to prevent a person from harming him/herself or others.
Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence. We may release your health information to report suspected case of abuse, neglect or domestic violence to agencies authorized to receive such reports. We will only make such disclosures if you agree or when required/authorized by law. We will make every effort to obtain your permission before releasing this information, but in some cases we may be required or authorized to act without your permission.
Health Oversight Activities. We may release your health information to government agencies authorized to conduct audits, investigations, and inspections of the practice. These government agencies monitor the operation of the health care system, government benefit programs, and compliance with regulatory programs and civil right laws.
We may disclose your health information if we are ordered to do so in a court or administrative tribunal that is handling a lawsuit or other dispute. We will only do so after attempting to contact you, consulting your attorney (if possible) and/or seeking a court order to protect the requested information.
4. Worker’s Compensation and similar benefit programs
We may release protected health information about you to programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries and illness or disability.