Equity Policy
We do not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), ability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or socio-economic status.
Notice of Privacy Practices
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is a federal law designed to protect your privacy whenever your health care providers (including me, N. Killings) have to discuss your case or send information about you to different offices. I must keep a file to record our consultation, but I promise that your private, protected health information (PHI) will be kept confidential. I can freely share all the details of your PHI for purposes of “treatment, payment and health care operations.” That means I can talk to you about your situation and discuss it with your other health care providers.
If you are referred to other specialists, I can send the information on to them. I can also share your PHI with your health insurance company if they need it. The law also requires me to share your PHI under other very precise situations: for example, to turn over medical records if a subpoena has been served on me or a federal agency is investigating a complaint that I have not been protecting your privacy. Any other time I share your PHI, it has to be with your specific authorization: you have to okay it first in writing. For example, you may want me to send PHI about your consultation to the Human Resources Department where you work so they can reimburse you under their workplace lactation support program. When you do give me permission to turn over your PHI, I can give out only the minimum amount of information needed to get the job done. Under HIPAA, I can call or write you to remind you to come back for an appointment, or to tell you how you can get a product or service that might interest you and your family.
You Have Four Rights Under HIPAA
1) Access (you can ask me to see all the PHI that I have about you);
2) Amendment (you can ask me to change your files to amend inaccurate PHI);
3) Disclosure Accounting (you can ask to whom I have given your PHI); and
4) Restriction Request (you can put limits on my use and sharing of your PHI). My duty under to HIPAA is to give you this notice so you understand I have promised to keep your PHI confidential. If I change this notice in the future, I’ll give you a new copy.
Nikki Killings, the owner of Lioness Lactation Services, is its Privacy Officer. I can be contacted through this website. I will answer your questions or concerns about how I protect the privacy of your PHI. You can complain if you think your privacy hasn’t been protected by your lactation consultant and I have a duty to try to patch things up. I can’t penalize you for making a complaint. If I don’t address your complaint adequately, you can go over my head to the Office of Civil Rights of the Federal Health and Human Services (HHS) Department to ask that a formal investigation be made. You can’t go to court and sue me over a HIPAA violation, but you can ask HHS to investigate. You can get all the details from them by calling (toll free) at 800-368-1019 or see their website.