MERCY FLIGHT CENTRAL, INC.
PRIVACY NOTICE
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION.
PLEASE REVIEW THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.
POLICY STATEMENT
Mercy Flight Central, Inc. (“MFC”) is committed to maintaining the privacy of your protected health information ("PHI"), which includes electronic protected health information, and which includes information about your medical condition and the care and treatment you receive from MFC and other health care providers, all in accordance with the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, and their regulations (collectively, the “HIPAA Rules”). This Notice details how your PHI may be used and disclosed to third parties for purposes of your care, payment for your care, health care operations of MFC, and for other purposes permitted or required by law and the HIPAA Rules. This Notice also details your rights regarding your PHI.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
MFC may use and/or disclose your PHI for purposes related to your treatment, payment for your treatment, and health care operations of MFC. The following are examples of the types of uses and/or disclosures of your PHI that may occur. These examples are not meant to include all possible types of uses and/or disclosures.
(a) For Treatment- MFC will provide your PHI to those health care professionals, whether on MFC's staff or not, directly involved in your care so that they may understand your medical condition and needs and provide advice or treatment (e.g., a specialist or laboratory). For example, for purposes of treatment, MFC may obtain and share information with physicians, hospitals, emergency departments, dispatch centers, emergency medical services agencies, air medical crews, receiving facilities, and other healthcare providers involved in your care. During emergency transport operations, MFC may transmit information by radio, telephone, secure electronic communication systems, or other operational communications necessary to coordinate patient care and transport.
(b) For Payment- In order to get paid for some or all of the health care provided by MFC, MFC may provide your PHI, directly or through a billing service, to appropriate third-party payors, pursuant to their billing and payment requirements. For example, MFC may need to provide your health insurance carrier with information about health care services that you received from MFC so that MFC can be properly reimbursed.
(c) For Health Care Operations- In order for MFC to operate in accordance with applicable law and insurance requirements and in order for MFC to provide quality and efficient care, it may be necessary for MFC to compile, use and/or disclose your PHI. For example, MFC may use your PHI in order to evaluate the performance of MFC's personnel in providing treatment to you.
Some federal and state laws and regulations may require special privacy protections that restrict the use and/or disclosure of certain types of health information, and MFC will follow the more stringent law as applicable. Additionally, there is the potential for information properly disclosed by MFC to be subject to redisclosure by the recipient of the information and no longer protected by the HIPAA Rules.
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER RECORDS
If MFC receives records from a substance use disorder (“SUD”) treatment program, federal law gives those records special privacy protections. MFC may not share such records in some situations where the HIPAA Rules would otherwise allow sharing. Although MFC is not an SUD treatment program under federal law, some of the information MFC maintains may include records received from such a program and they are protected by federal law as well as regulations at 42 C.F.R. Part 2. An individual who is the subject of records protected under 42 C.F.R. Part 2 has a right to adequate notice of the use and disclosure of such records, and of the individual’s rights and MFC’s legal duties with respect to such records.
MFC may use and disclose SUD treatment records received for treatment, payment, and health care operations only as permitted by 42 C.F.R. Part 2 and the HIPAA Rules. If, for example, MFC receives SUD treatment records under a limited authorization, MFC will use or disclose those SUD treatment records only as permitted by that authorization or as otherwise allowed by 42 C.F.R. Part 2 and the HIPAA Rules.
When MFC receives and/or maintains such SUD treatment records, MFC follows additional confidentiality requirements including the following:
SUD treatment records received from programs subject to 42 C.F.R. Part 2, or testimony relaying the content of such records, shall not be used or disclosed in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings against an individual unless based on written consent, or a court order after notice and an opportunity to be heard is provided to the individual or the holder of the record, as provided in 42 C.F.R. Part 2. A court order authorizing use or disclosure must be accompanied by a subpoena or other legal requirement compelling disclosure before the requested record is used or disclosed.
If MFC decides to start using or disclosing SUD treatment records it maintained for its own fundraising purposes, the individual who is the subject of the records would first be provided with a clear and conspicuous opportunity to elect not to receive any fundraising communications.
Additionally, any disclosure that MFC makes of SUD treatment records will include any applicable notice restricting redisclosure which is required by 42 C.F.R. Part 2.
WHEN AN AUTHORIZATION IS NOT REQUIRED
MFC may use and/or disclose your PHI, without a written authorization from you, in the following instances:
(a) De-identified Information- Your PHI is altered so that it does not identify you and, even without your name, cannot be used to identify you.
(b) Business Associate– To a business associate, which is an entity or person that provides services to or on behalf of MFC related to treatment, payment, or health care operations (e.g., a billing service). MFC will obtain satisfactory written assurance, in accordance with applicable law and the HIPAA Rules, that the business associate will appropriately safeguard your PHI and that the business associate will ensure its subcontractors, if any, appropriately safeguard your PHI as well.
(c) To You or a Personal Representative- To you, or to a person who, under applicable law, has the authority to represent you in making decisions related to your health care.
(d) Public Health Activities- Such activities include, for example, information collected by a public health authority, as authorized by law, to prevent or control disease, injury or disability. This includes reports of child abuse or neglect.
(e) Food and Drug Administration- If required by the Food and Drug Administration to report adverse events, product defects or problems or biological product deviations, or to track products, or to enable product recalls, repairs or replacements, or to conduct post marketing surveillance.
(f) Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence- To a government authority if MFC is required by law to make such disclosure. If MFC is authorized by law to make such a disclosure, it will do so if it believes that the disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm or if MFC believes that you have been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. Any such disclosure will be made in accordance with the requirements of law, which may also involve notice to you of the disclosure.
(g) Health Oversight Activities- Such activities, which must be required by law, involve government agencies involved in oversight activities that relate to the health care system, government benefit programs, government regulatory programs and civil rights law. Health oversight activities may include audits, inspections, investigations, licensure reviews, accreditation activities, disciplinary proceedings, reimbursement reviews, civil, administrative or criminal investigations, and other governmental oversight activities involving healthcare providers, emergency medical services agencies, air ambulance providers, or healthcare programs.
(h) Judicial and Administrative Proceeding- For example, MFC may be required to disclose your PHI in response to a court order or a lawfully issued subpoena.
(i) Law Enforcement Purposes- In certain instances, your PHI may have to be disclosed to a law enforcement official for law enforcement purposes. Law enforcement purposes include: (1) complying with a legal process (i.e., subpoena) or as required by law; (2) information for identification and location purposes (e.g., suspect or missing person); (3) information regarding a person who is or is suspected to be a crime victim; (4) in situations where the death of an individual may have resulted from criminal conduct; (5) in the event of a crime occurring on the premises of MFC; and (6) a medical emergency (not on MFC's premises) has occurred, and it appears that a crime has occurred.
(j) Coroner or Medical Examiner- MFC may disclose your PHI to a coroner or medical examiner for the purpose of identifying you or determining your cause of death, or to a funeral director as permitted by law and as necessary to carry out its duties.
(k) Organ, Eye or Tissue Donation- If you are an organ donor, MFC may disclose your PHI to the entity to whom you have agreed to donate your organs.
(l) Research - If MFC is involved in research activities, your PHI may be used, but such use is subject to numerous governmental requirements intended to protect the privacy of your PHI such as approval of the research by an institutional review board and the requirement that protocols must be followed. Research activities are subject to applicable oversight and approval requirements intended to protect patient privacy.
(m) Avert a Threat to Health or Safety- MFC may disclose your PHI if it believes that such disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public and the disclosure is to an individual who is reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat.
(n) Specialized Government Functions- When the appropriate conditions apply, MFC may use PHI of individuals who are Armed Forces personnel: (1) for activities deemed necessary by appropriate military command authorities; (2) for the purpose of a determination by the Department of Veteran Affairs of eligibility for benefits; or (3) to a foreign military authority if you are a member of that foreign military service. MFC may also disclose your PHI to authorized federal officials for conducting national security and intelligence activities including the provision of protective services to the President or others legally authorized.
(o) Inmates- MFC may disclose your PHI to a correctional institution or a law enforcement official if you are an inmate of that correctional facility and your PHI is necessary to provide care and treatment to you or is necessary for the health and safety of other individuals or inmates.
(p) Workers' Compensation- If you are involved in a Workers' Compensation claim, MFC may be required to disclose your PHI to an individual or entity that is part of the Workers' Compensation system.
(q) Disaster Relief Efforts- MFC may use or disclose your PHI to a public or private entity authorized to assist in disaster relief efforts.
(r) Required by Law- If otherwise required by law, but such use or disclosure will be made in compliance with the law and limited to the requirements of the law.
(s) Transportation and Aviation Safety Activities - MFC may use and disclose PHI as permitted or required by law in connection with transportation safety, aviation operations, governmental oversight, accident investigation, emergency response activities, or compliance with applicable federal, state, or local requirements. Such disclosures may include disclosures to governmental authorities responsible for transportation safety, accident investigation, emergency management, or regulatory oversight when authorized or required by law. MFC may also disclose information to trauma systems, emergency preparedness programs, and regional emergency medical coordination entities as authorized by law.
AUTHORIZATION
As detailed in the HIPAA Rules, certain uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, uses and disclosures of PHI for marketing purposes, and disclosures that constitute a sale of PHI require a written authorization from you, and other uses and disclosures not otherwise permitted as described in this Privacy Notice will only be made with your written authorization, which you may revoke at any time as detailed in the “Your Rights” section of this Privacy Notice.
CONTACTS
MFC may contact you regarding scheduled non-emergency transports, medical transportation services, billing matters, operational updates, or other transportation-related communications. These communications may be in the form of a letter or postcard. MFC will try to minimize the amount of information contained in the reminder. MFC may also contact you by phone and, if you are not available, MFC will leave a message for you. MFC will include only the minimum necessary information for these communications.
GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS AND COMPLIANCE ACTIVITIES
MFC may disclose PHI to federal, state, or local governmental agencies, contractors, or agents conducting audits, inspections, investigations, enforcement actions, compliance reviews, fraud prevention activities, licensing reviews, civil rights reviews, or other oversight functions authorized by law.
MARKETING
Most uses and disclosures of PHI for marketing purposes require your written authorization. MFC will obtain your authorization before using or disclosing your PHI for marketing purposes when required by the HIPAA Rules. You may revoke any such authorization at any time in writing, except to the extent action has already been taken in reliance on the authorization.
FUNDRAISING
Because MFC is a not-for-profit organization, MFC may use certain limited information about you, or disclose such limited information to a business associate acting on MFC's behalf, in order to contact you regarding fundraising activities that support MFC's mission and operations, as permitted by the HIPAA Rules. You have the right to opt out of receiving fundraising communications. Every fundraising communication sent by MFC will include a clear and conspicuous opportunity to opt out of future fundraising communications, and MFC will honor such requests.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
MFC may communicate with hospitals, physicians, dispatch centers, emergency responders, and other healthcare providers using electronic systems, secure messaging platforms, radio communications, telecommunication systems, and other technologies utilized in emergency medical transport operations as permitted by law.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS INVOLVED IN YOUR CARE
MFC may disclose to your family member, other relative, a close personal friend, or any other person identified by you, your PHI directly relevant to such person's involvement with your care or the payment for your care. MFC may also use or disclose your PHI to notify or assist in the notification (including identifying or locating) of a family member, a personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, of your location, general condition or death. However, in both cases, the following conditions will apply:
(a) MFC may use or disclose your PHI if you agree, or if MFC provides you with opportunity to object and you do not object, or if MFC can reasonably infer from the circumstances, based on the exercise of its judgment, that you do not object to the use or disclosure.
(b) If you are not present, MFC will, in the exercise of its judgment, determine whether the use or disclosure is in your best interests and, if so, disclose only the PHI that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your care.
YOUR RIGHTS
You have the right to:
(a) Revoke any authorization, in writing, at any time. To request a revocation, you must submit a written request to MFC's Privacy Officer.
(b) Request restrictions on certain uses and/or disclosures of your PHI as provided by law and the HIPAA Rules. However, MFC is not obligated to agree to every requested restriction, except to the extent required by the HIPAA Rules or by law. To request restrictions, you must submit a written request to MFC's Privacy Officer. In your written request, you must inform MFC of what information you want to limit, whether you want to limit MFC's use or disclosure, or both, and to whom you want the limits to apply. If MFC agrees to your request, MFC will comply with your request unless the information is needed in order to provide you with emergency treatment.
(c) Restrict certain disclosures of PHI about you to a health plan where you pay out of pocket in full for the health care item or service.
(d) Receive confidential communications of PHI by alternative means or at alternative locations. You must make your request in writing to MFC's Privacy Officer. MFC will accommodate all reasonable requests.
(e) Inspect and copy your PHI as provided by law. To inspect and copy your PHI, you must submit a written request to MFC's Privacy Officer. In certain situations that are defined by law, MFC may deny your request, but you will have the right to have the denial reviewed. MFC can charge you a fee for the cost of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request, all in accordance with applicable law.
(f) Request an amendment of your PHI as provided by law. To request an amendment, you must submit a written request to MFC's Privacy Officer. You must provide a reason that supports your request. MFC may deny your request if it is not in writing, if you do not provide a reason and support of your request, if the information to be amended was not created by MFC (unless the individual or entity that created the information is no longer available), if the information is not part of your PHI maintained by MFC, if the information is not part of the information you would be permitted to inspect and copy, and/or if the information is accurate and complete. If you disagree with MFC's denial, you have the right to submit a written statement of disagreement.
(g) Receive an accounting of disclosures of your PHI as provided by law. To request an accounting, you must submit a written request to MFC's Privacy Officer which must comply with the applicable HIPAA Rules. The request should indicate in what form you want the list (such as a paper or electronic copy). The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free, but MFC may charge you for the cost of providing additional lists in that same 12-month period. MFC will notify you of the costs involved and you can decide to withdraw or modify your request before any costs are incurred. The request must state a time period which may not be longer than 6 years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003.
(h) Receive a paper copy of this Privacy Notice from MFC upon request to MFC's Privacy Officer.
(i) Be notified following a breach of your Unsecured PHI (as such term is defined by the HIPAA Rules).
(j) Complain to MFC, or to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, Centralized Case Management Operations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 509F HHH Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20201. Additional information about filing a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights can be found at this website:
https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/complaint-process/index.html
To file a complaint with MFC, you must contact MFC's Privacy Officer. All complaints must be in writing.
(k) To obtain more information on, or have your questions about your rights answered, you may contact our offices at 2420 Brickyard Road, Canandaigua, New York 14424 (Office: 585-396-0584; Fax: 585-396-0585) or via e-mail at hipaa@mercyflightcentral.org. Website: www.mercyflightcentral.org.
MFC'S OBLIGATIONS
MFC:
(a) Is required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI and to provide you with this Privacy Notice of MFC's legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI.
(b) Is required to abide by the terms of this Privacy Notice, which is currently in effect.
(c) Reserves the right to change the terms of this Privacy Notice and to make the new Privacy Notice provisions effective for all of your PHI that it maintains.
(d) Will not retaliate against you for making a complaint.
(e) Will provide this Notice and obtain an acknowledgment of receipt when required by the HIPAA Rules and when practicable under the circumstances. In emergency treatment situations, MFC may provide this Notice as soon as reasonably practicable after the emergency condition has been addressed.
(f) Will post this Privacy Notice on MFC's website.
(g) Will provide this Privacy Notice to you by e-mail if you so request. However, you also have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Privacy Notice.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Effective Date of this Revised Notice: August 4, 2026.