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NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
T
HIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND
DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION
.
P
LEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.
U
SES AND DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
Protected health information includes demographic and medical information that concerns the
past, present, or future physical or mental health of an individual. Demographic information
could include your name, address, telephone number, Social Security number and any other
means of identifying you as a specific person. Protected health information contains specific
information that identifies a person or can be used to identify a person.
Protected health information is health information created or received by a health care provider,
health plan, employer, or health care clearinghouse. The Department of Health (Department) can
act as each of the above business types. This medical information is used by the Department in
many ways while performing normal business activities.
Your protected health information may be used or disclosed by the Department for purposes of
treatment, payment, and health care operations. Health care professionals use medical
information in the clinics or hospital to take care of you. Your protected health information may
be shared, with or without your consent, with another health care provider for purposes of your
treatment. The Department may use or disclose your health information for case management
and services. The Department clinic or hospital may send the medical information to insurance
companies, Medicaid, or community agencies to pay for the services provided to you.
Your information may be used by certain Department personnel to improve the Department’s
health care operations. The Department also may send you appointment reminders, information
about treatment options or other health-related benefits and services.
Some protected health information can be disclosed without your written authorization as
allowed by law. Those circumstances include:
• Reporting abuse of children, adults, or disabled persons.
• Investigations related to a missing child.
• Internal investigations and audits by the Department’s divisions, bureaus, and offices.
• Investigations and audits by the state’s Inspector General and Auditor General, and the
Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
Accountability.
• Public health purposes, including vital statistics, disease reporting, public health
surveillance, investigations, interventions, and regulation of health professionals.
• District medical examiner investigations.
• Research approved by the Department.
• Court orders, warrants, or subpoenas.
• Law enforcement purposes, administrative investigations, and judicial and administrative
proceedings.
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Other uses and disclosures of your protected health information by the Department will require
your written authorization. These uses and disclosures may be for marketing or research
purposes, certain uses and disclosure of psychotherapist notes, and the sale of protected health
information resulting in compensation to the Department,
This authorization will have an expiration date that can be revoked by you in writing.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
You have the right to request that the Department restrict the use and disclosure of your
protected health information to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations. You
may also limit disclosures to individuals involved with your care. The Department is not required
to agree to any restriction.
You have the right to be assured that your information will be kept confidential. The Department
will contact you in the manner and at the address or phone number you select. You may be
asked to put your request in writing. If you are responsible to pay for services, you may provide
an address other than your residence where you can receive mail and where the Department may
contact you.
You have the right to inspect and receive a copy of your protected health information that is
maintained by the Department within 30 days of the Department’s receipt of your request to
obtain a copy of your protected health information. You must complete the Department’s
Authorization to Disclose Confidential Information form and submit the request to the local
county health department or Children’s Medical Services office. If there are delays in the
Department’s ability to provide the information to you within 30 days, you will be told the
reason for the delay and the anticipated date your request can be fulfilled.
Your inspection of the information will be supervised at an appointed time and place. You may
be denied access to some records as specified by federal or state law.
If you choose to receive a copy of your protected health information, you have the right to
receive the information in the form or format you request. If the Department cannot produce it in
that form or format, you will be given the information in a readable hard copy form or another
form or format that you and the Department agree to.
The Department cannot give you access to psychotherapy notes or certain information being
used in a legal proceeding. Records are maintained for specified periods of time in accordance
with the law. If your request covers information beyond that time, the Department is not required
to keep the record and the information may no longer be available.
If access is denied, you have the right to request a review by a licensed health care professional
who was not involved in the decision to deny access. This licensed health care professional will
be designated by the Department.
You have the right to correct your protected health information. A request to correct your
protected health information must be in writing and provide a reason to support your requested
correction.
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The Department may deny your request, in whole or part, if the protected health information:
• Was not created by the Department.
• Is not protected health information.
• Is, by law, not available for your inspection.
• Is accurate and complete.
If your correction is accepted, the Department will make the correction and inform you and
others who need to know about the correction. If your request is denied, you may send a letter
detailing the reason you disagree with the decision. The Department may respond to your letter
in writing. You also may file a complaint, as described below in the section titled Complaints.
You have the right to receive a summary of certain disclosures the Department may have made
of your protected health information. This summary does not include:
• Disclosures made to you.
• Disclosures to individuals involved with your care.
• Disclosures authorized by you.
• Disclosures made to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations.
• Disclosures for public health.
• Disclosures to health professional regulatory purposes.
• Disclosures to report abuse of children, adults, or disabled persons.
• Disclosures prior to April 14, 2003.
This summary does include disclosures made for:
• Purposes of research, other than those you authorized in writing.
• Responses to court orders, subpoenas, or warrants.
You may request a summary for not more than a 6-year period from the date of your request.
If you received this Notice of Privacy Practices electronically, you have the right to a paper copy
upon request.
The Department of Health may send health care appointment reminders to you by postal mail, or
by a telephone text or call.
PARTICIPATION IN THE HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE NETWORK
Access to information about your health history and medical care is critical to help ensure that
you receive high-quality care and gives your health care provider a more complete picture of
your overall health. This can help your provider make informed decisions about your care. The
information may also prevent you from having repeat tests, saving you time, money, and worry.
Recent advancements in technology now support the safe and secure electronic exchange of
important clinical information from one health care provider to another through Health
Information Exchange (HIE) networks. The Department and its county health departments
participate in an HIE network and also participate in several HIE networks with trusted outside
health care providers to quickly and securely share your health information electronically among
a network of health care providers, including physicians, hospitals, laboratories and pharmacies.
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Your health information is transmitted securely and only authorized health care providers with a
valid reason may access your information. By sharing information electronically through a
secure system, the risk that your paper of faxed records may be misused or misplaced is reduced.
Participation in HIE is completely your choice.
Choice 1. YES to HIE participation. If you agree to have your medical information shared
through HIE and you have a current Initiation of Services form on file, you need not do anything.
By signing that form, you have granted the Department permission to share your health
information through the HIE.
Choice 2. NO to HIE participation. You can choose to not have your information shared
electronically through the HIE network (opt out) at any time, by completing the Health
Information Exchange Opt-Out Form available at the county health department. If you decide to
opt out of HIE, health care providers will not be able to access your health information through
HIE. You should understand that if you opt out, the health care providers treating you are still
permitted to contact the Department to ask that your health information be shared with them as
stated in this Notice of Privacy Practices. Opting out does not prevent information from being
shared between members of your care team. Please note, opting out does not affect health
information that was disclosed through HIE prior to the time you opted out.
Choice 3. You may change your mind at any time.
You may consent today to the sharing of your information via HIE and change your mind later
by following the instructions on the opt out form described under Choice 2.
Alternatively, you may opt out of HIE today and change your mind later by submitting the
Department’s Revocation of HIE Opt-Out Request Form.
PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS (PHR) MOBILE APPLICATION
SYNCHRONIZATION WITH USER DATA
As part of the services provided by the Department, you can download the companion PHR
mobile application to access your personal health records. This application is the mobile version
of the Florida Health Connect portal.
The purpose of the PHR mobile application is to provide you with access to your health
information through your mobile device. You can synchronize your Florida Health Connect
account through the mobile application with your personal health information captured on your
mobile device (Google Fit or Apple Health) to provide you with a 360-degree view of your
health history and current health status.
Your Google Fit or Apple Health information will not be disclosed to any third parties without
your express written permission.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH DUTIES
The Department is required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information.
This Notice of Privacy Practices tells you how your protected health information may be used
and how the Department keeps your information private and confidential. This notice explains
the legal duties and practices relating to your protected health information. The Department has
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the responsibility to notify you following a breach of your unsecured protected health
information.
As part of the Department’s legal duties, this Notice of Privacy Practices must be given to you.
The Department is required to follow the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices currently in
effect.
The Department may change the terms of its notice. The change, if made, will be effective for
all protected health information maintained by the Department. New or revised Notices of
Privacy Practices and all forms referenced in this Notice of Privacy Practices may be accessed on
the Department’s website at https://www.floridahealth.gov/about/patient-rights-and-
safety/hipaa/index.html and will be available by email and at all Department of Health locations.
Also available are additional documents that further explain your rights to inspect, copy, or
amend your protected health information.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy health rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the:
Department of Health’s Inspector General at 4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN A03/ Tallahassee, FL
32399-1704/ telephone 850-245-4141 and with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services at 200 Independence Avenue, S.W./ Washington, D.C. 20201/ telephone
202-619-0257 or toll free 877-696-6775.
The complaint must be in writing, describe the acts or omissions that you believe violate your
privacy rights, and be filed within 180 days of when you knew or should have known that the act
or omission occurred. The Department will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Requests for further information about the matters covered by this notice may be directed to the
person who gave you the notice, to the director or administrator of the Department of Health
facility where you received the notice, or to the Department of Health’s Inspector General at
4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN A03/ Tallahassee, FL 32399-1704/ telephone 850-245-4141.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective beginning February 21, 2022, and shall remain in
effect until a new Notice of Privacy Practices is approved and posted.
REFERENCES
“Standards for the Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information; Final Rule.” 45 CFR
Parts 160 through 164. Federal Register 65, no. 250 (December 28, 2000).
“Standards for the Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information; Final Rule” 45 CFR
Part 160 through 164. Federal Register, Volume 67 (August 14, 2002).
HHS, Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification
Rules under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act and the
Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act; Other Modifications to the HIPAA Rules, 78
Fed. Reg. 5566 (Jan. 25, 2013).
