Understanding HIPAA

Sky Lakes Medical Center is committed to providing health care services consistent with the very highest standards of ethics and integrity.

Each employee, volunteer, student, business associate, and physician has a personal obligation to uphold our organizational standards and Code of Business Ethics. Complying with federal and state regulations is essential and demonstrates good business practice.

The privacy and protection of our patients’ confidential medical information demonstrates to our patients and the community our commitment to their most basic rights and fosters a sense of trust. Without that trust, we cannot deliver the excellent patient-centered care to which we are dedicated.

What is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was created to ensure patients’ healthcare information remains confidential. This law tells us how, when, and to whom we can share patients’ healthcare information.

The HIPAA privacy regulations were effective April 14, 2003. By this law, patients have the rights to:
    Request access to their protected health information
    Request an amendment or correction to their protected health information
    Request the restriction or limit the use of their protected health information
    Refuse to be contacted for fund-raising activities
    Request to keep their name off of the patient directory

Protecting Protected Health Information
All of us at Sky Lakes Medical Center are personally responsible for respecting and protecting the privacy rights of our patients. This means not sharing patient information with anyone who should not have access to that information.

Only those involved in the care and treatment of a patient are allowed access to that patient’s medical record. These individuals include physicians, nurses, therapists, lab personnel, admitting staff, etc. or whomever the patient authorizes as their personal representative.

HIPAA Privacy Officer
Although compliance with the HIPAA regulations is the responsibility of every employee and volunteer, Sky Lakes Medical Center has designated Tara Irvine our HIPAA privacy officer who is responsible for developing, coordinating, monitoring, and facilitating the hospital’s compliance with federal and state laws that affect our information privacy practices.

Concerns from patients, visitors, volunteers and others can be communicated with Tara by calling 541-274-2876 or writing her at Sky Lakes Medical Center, 2865 Daggett Ave., Klamath Falls, Ore., 97601.