This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.

Please review this notice carefully.

Except where noted below, disclosure of medical information about you requires your consent.

The MSU Billings Student Health Services is allowed by law to use and disclose information about you for the purposes essential to providing care (treatment, payment collection, and operating the MSU Billings Student Health Services).

A release of information authorization allows the MSU Billings Student Health Services to use and disclose information about you for any other reason that you indicate in the authorization. Other rules about your rights regarding medical information are described in this notice.

Types of Uses and Disclosures. Medical information about you may be used or disclosed by the MSU Billings Student Health Services for treatment, payment, and health care operations. Treatment includes consultation, diagnosis, provision of care, and referrals. Payment includes all those things necessary for billing and collection. Health care operations include things the MSU Billings Student Health Services does to assess quality of care, train staff, and manage MSU Billings Student Health Services business. Some examples of disclosures and use are as follows:

Example of Treatment Disclosure. We may disclose medical information about you to your treating health care provider, a hospital or other providers to help them diagnose and treat an injury or illness.

Example of Health Care Operations Use. We may use medical information about you for internal quality improvement studies to review the quality of care delivered by our staff.

The MSU Billings Student Health Services may also contact you to provide appointment reminders or cancellations or to ask you to contact the Student Health Services for purposes related to your health care. We may leave this limited information on an answering machine, voicemail, or text message at the numbers you provided or at an e-mail address you provided unless you request a restriction regarding these methods of communicating with you.

Other Uses and Disclosures. We may use or disclose your protected health information in the following situations without your authorization. These situations include:

As Required By Law. We may use or disclose your protected health information to the extent that the use or disclosure is required by law. The use or disclosure will be made in compliance with the law and will be limited to the relevant requirements of the law.

Public Health. We may disclose your protected health information for public health activities and purposes to a public health authority that is permitted by law to collect or receive the information. The disclosure will be made for the purpose of controlling disease, injury or disability. We may also disclose your protected health information to another government agency that is collaborating with the public health authority.

Communicable Diseases. We may disclose your protected health information, if authorized by law, to a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or may otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading the disease or condition.

Oversight Activities. We may disclose protected health information to an oversight agency for appropriately authorized activities. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, accreditation, and/or licensure.

Abuse or Neglect. We may disclose your protected health information to the authority that is authorized by law to receive reports of child/elder abuse or neglect.

Food and Drug Administration. The MSU Billings Student Health Services may disclose a patient’s health information to a person subject to the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration if that person has responsibility to report adverse events, product defects or problems, or biologic product deviations; to track products; to enable product recalls, repairs or replacements; or, to conduct post marketing surveillance.

Legal Proceedings. We may disclose protected health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding, in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal (to the extent such disclosure is expressly authorized), in certain conditions in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process. If you begin a legal action against the MSU Billings Student Health Services related to the medical care you received, we may use your protected health information for purposes of defending the Student Health Services and its employees in any related legal proceeding.

Threat or endangerment. Consistent with applicable federal and state laws, we may disclose your protected health information, if we 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 the public.                                                                                                                                 

Criminal Activity/Violation of MSU Billings Student Conduct Code. Should you commit a criminal act related to a service the Student Health Service has provided or on the MSU Billings Student Health premises, we may disclose information necessary for the investigation and prosecution of the criminal activity to appropriate law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. Similarly, if you violate the MSU Billings Student Conduct Code related to a service the Student Health Services has provided or on the MSU Billings Student Health Services premises, we may disclose information necessary for the staff of the MSU Billings Dean of Students Office to investigate and adjudicate the potential violation.

Medical Emergency. We may disclose your health information to your next of kin for the purpose of obtaining authorization for treatment in the event you are unable to give consent to medical treatment due to your medical condition.

Contractors. Certain contactors of the MSU Billings Student Health Services may have access to protected health information. An example is a contractor that provides medical software. In these cases, the contractor will sign a confidentiality agreement promising to protect the confidentiality of any protected health information.

Authorized Uses and Disclosures. Additional uses and disclosures may be made if you have given written authorization, which may be revoked at any time in writing delivered to the medical records staff at the MSU Billings Student Health Services. Among those disclosures that require your consent, subject to the exceptions noted elsewhere in this document, are the following:

  • Psychotherapy notes
  • Use of protected health information for marketing purposes
  • Disclosures that constitute a sale of protected health information

Restrictions. You have the right to request restrictions on the use and disclosure of medical information about you provided the request complies with relevant state or federal law and providing the MSU Billings Student Health Services agrees to the restrictions. You have the right to request that we not disclose protected health information related to a specific service to a health plan if you pay for that service in full at the time the service is rendered. We will not use or disclose your genetic information for underwriting purposes.

Access. You have the right to see and receive a copy of information about you kept by the MSU Billings Student Health Services under most circumstances.

Amendment. You have the right to have the MSU Billings Student Health Services amend its records of information about you. The MSU Billings Student Health Services may refuse to amend information that is accurate, that was created by someone else, or is not disclosable to you.

Accounting. You have the right to see a list of certain disclosures of medical information about you by the MSU Billings Student Health Services, which includes the purposes and recipients of the information. This list will not include disclosures made for the following: for treatment, payment, and health service operations or for purposes for which your authorization is not required or for disclosures made prior to the last 7 calendar years.

Notification of Breach of Privacy of Protected Health Information. We will notify you in the event of a breach of privacy of your protected health information that occurs in contravention of the rules outlined in this notice.

Copy. You have the right to receive a copy of this notice.

Changes to Privacy Notice. The MSU Billings Student Health Services may amend this notice at any time. In the event this notice is changed, we will provide you with a copy by electronic means, by posting a notice to patients about the changes in the waiting room of the Student Health Service, or by posting a notice on the MSU Billings Student Health Services web site.

Complaints. You may complain to the MSU Billings Student Health Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated by giving a written complaint to the Director of the Student Health Services at MSU Billings, 1500 University Drive, Billings, MT  59101. The MSU Billings Student Health Services will not retaliate against you for making a complaint.

Effective Date. This notice is effective from September 1, 2017, until revised by the MSU Billings Student Health Services.