Notice of privacy policy

We understand and respect that information about you is personal. The Guiding Beacon will maintain the privacy of your information, to follow the terms of this Notice, and to provide you with this Notice of our duties and privacy practices with respect to your personal information. Employees, staff, and practitioners at The Guiding Beacon will follow this notice. A detailed Notice of our Privacy Practices are posted on our website.

How a guiding beacon may use or disclose your information.

The Guiding Beacon protects the privacy of your information. For some activities, we must have your written authorization to use or disclose your health information. However, The Guiding Beacon chose to use or disclose information for several purposes without your authorization, including but not limited to:

 For payment: We may use and disclose your information so that The Guiding Beacon may bill and collect payment or other third party.

As required by law: We will disclose information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.

To Advert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We make use of and disclose information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or health and safety of the public or another person. Public health risks, lawsuits, and disputes, for specific government functions, and to business associates.

Other uses of information. Other uses and disclosures of your information not covered by this notice or laws that apply to us will be provided only through the authorization.

Understanding Your Record/Information

    A record of your visit will be made available each time you visit a practitioner. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, observations, and results, therapy, and plan for future care. This information, often referred to as your record, serves as:

 Basis for planning your care and means of communication contribute to your care.

 A document describing the care you received.

 A means by which you can verify that services billed were provided to you.                                                                                                As a tool in educating students and practitioners.

A source of data for improving the health of the community, for facility planning and marketing, tools with which we can access and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve.

Understanding what is in your record and how your information is used helps you to:                          ensure its accuracy and better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your information.                                                                                                                                                                   To make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.

How we may use and disclose information about you

Your information may be used and disclosed by The Guiding Beacon employees, staff and others who participate in your care. Your information may also be used and disclosed to obtain payment of your care and to support care operations. The following categories describe diverse ways that we use and disclose information. For each category of uses or disclosures, we will explain what we mean and try to give examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all the ways we are permitted to use your use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.                Directory: We may include general information including your name, title, and brief biography, if applicable. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, will be released to people who ask for you by name. You may submit a request not to be included in the directory.                                                                                  Family and Friends. Unless you object, we may disclose to your family members, other relatives or close personal friends’ general information about you. We will try to limit specific information about you and your care to those people who are authorized by you or authorized by law to receive the information. Disclosures for Care, Payment, and Care Operations. We may use and disclose your information in the following to care for you, obtain payment for care operation of The Guiding Beacon. Examples include For care.  We may use information about you to provide you with care. We may disclose information about you to students, other employees, or other personal personnel or agents who participate in taking care of you at The Guiding Beacon. For example, a practitioner caring for you may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition, the practitioner may need to tell the staff if you have diabetes so that we can arrange appropriate accommodation. We also make some information about you to people outside The Guiding Beacon who may be involved in your medical care after you leave The Guiding Beacon such as nursing homes, home health agencies, physician’s offices, ambulance services, family members or others that provide services that are part of your care. For payment: We may use the information about you to obtain payment for care. For example, a bill may mailed to you or third-party. The information or the accompanying bill may include information that identifies you, as well as your care and suppliers used so that your payer will pay or reimburse us for the care. We will attempt to obtain your consent on all admission agreement prior to sending a third-party bill.                                                                                                                                                                                 For Care Operations. We may use the information about you to operate The Guiding Beacon, for example, members of the staff or members of the quality improvement team may use information you assess the quality of your care and the outcomes in your case and to compare it to other similar therapeutic methods. Your information may be used in peer review or professionals to evaluate quality of care. This information is used in effect to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the care and service we provide. Operations also include but are not limited to data and information systems management, legal services, auditing, and accounting functions, business planning and development and general administrative activities. In addition, we may use a sign-in sheet at the registration desk where you will be asked to sign your name and provide contact information. We may also call you by name in the waiting room when your provider is ready to see you. We may also use or disclose your information as necessary to contact you to remind you of your appointment.

When The Guiding Beacon May Not Use or Disclose Your Information                                                     Except as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices, The Guiding Beacon will not use or disclose your information without written authorization. If you do authorize The Guiding Beacon to use or disclose your information for other purposes, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.

You Have the Following Rights with Respect to Your Information                                                                     You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your information. The Guiding Beacon is not required to agree to and restrict that you request. You have the right to inspect and request a copy, for a fee of $1.00 U.S. dollars per page, of your information. You have the right to request that The Guiding Beacon amend your information that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. The Guiding Beacon is not required to amend information that is accurate and complete. You have the right to receive and account disclosures of your information we have made for purposes other than disclosures (1) for The Guiding Beacon treatment, payment, or care operations. (2) based upon the authorization to others, and (3) for certain government functions. You may request communication of your information by alternative means or at alternative locations. We will accommodate reasonable request.

Changes to This Notice of Privacy Practices                                                                                                                                  The Guiding Beacon reserves the right to change this Notice and post the changes. Upon request we will provide a revised notice to you.

Notice of Privacy Practices for Information                                                                                                            This notice describes how information about you may be used and disclosed and how you may obtain access to this information. Please read it carefully.                                                                                        Mission Statement: The Guiding Beacon may share your information for payment and care operations, for procedures designed to safeguard your information against inappropriate use and disclosure.            (1) As a part of care operations, we will share your information with third parties or “Business Associates” that perform various activities (e.g., collections, transcription services) for The Guiding Beacon. Whenever an arrangement between The Guiding Beacon and a business associate involves the use or disclosure of your information, we should have a written contact that contains terms that will protect your privacy of all information. To protect your information, we will require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.                                                                                         (2) Permitted and required uses and disclosures that may be made with your consent, authorization, or opportunity to object.                                                                                                                                                We may use and disclose your information in the following instances:                                                           You had the opportunity to agree or object to use or disclose disclosure of all or part of your information. If you are not present or unable to agree or object to the use or disclosure of the information, then your provider may, using professional judgment, determine whether the disclosure is in your best interest. In this case, only the information that is relevant to your care will be disclosed. Examples include           Media. Unless you object, we may disclose your name on social media, radio, or television, or to students/professionals for educational purposes.                                                                                Emergencies. We may use or disclose in an emergency treatment situation. If this happens, we try to think as soon as reasonably possible.                                                                                                                      (3) Permitted and Required Uses and Disclose that may be made without your consent, authorization, or opportunity to object. We may disclose your information to certain government agencies, oversight regulatory bodies and in the legal proceedings as required or allowed by law for public safety government oversight and other permitted disclosures.                                                                                          Law Enforcement. We may also discover disclose information, so long as applicable legal requirements are met for law enforcement purposes. These law enforcement purposes include: 1) legal processes and otherwise required by law; 2) limited information request for identification and location purposes;          3) information about a victim of crime; 4) suspicion that death has occurred as a result of criminal conduct; 5) in the event that a crime occurs on the premises of The Guiding Beacon; 6) medical emergency and it is likely that a crime has occurred; and; 7) we if we believe that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to the health and safety of a person or the public.                                                                                                                                                              Workmen's Compensation. Your information may be disclosed by us as authorized or required to comply with workman’s compensation laws.                                                                                                            Required Uses and Disclosures. Under the law we must make disclosures about you when required by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, to investigate or determine our compliance with the requirements of the privacy regulations.                                                           Fundraising. We may use your information to contact you in effort to raise money for The Guiding Beacon. We only would release contact information, such as your name, address, and phone number. If you do not want The Guiding Beacon to contact you for fundraising efforts, you must notify our office in writing.                                                                                                                                                                     Other Uses. Other uses and disclosures of your information not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization. If you provide us authorization to use or disclose information about you, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose information about you for the reason covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your authorization, and that we are required to retain our records of care that we provide to you.                                                                                                                                                          4)You're Rights. Following is a statement of your rights with respect to your information and brief description of how you may exercise these rights.                                                                                             You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your information. This means you may inspect and obtain a copy, for a fee, of your record that are contained in a designated record for as long as we maintain the information. A “Designated Record,” contains billing records and any other records that The Guiding Beacon uses. We have (30) days to respond to your request and may request a (30) day extension to respond you have the right to request a restriction of your information. This means you may ask us not to use any part of your information for the purposes of paying for operations. For example, you may also request that any part of your information not be disclosed. Your request must state the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply. We may deny your request if we find Your request unreasonable, or that it interferes with your treatment, payment, or health care operations.                                                                                                                                                                       You may have the right to request an amendment of your information. This means you must request an amendment of information about you in a designated record for as long as we maintain this information. In certain cases, we may do not request for an amendment. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement a disagreement with us and we make a rebuttal to your statement, and we'll provide you with a copy of any such rebuttal. You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have made, if any, of your information. This right applies to disclosure purposes other than treatment, payment or operations as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices. It excludes incidental disclosures or disclosures we may have made to you or authorized by you. for a facility directory, to family member or friends involved in your care, or for notification purposes. You have the right to receive specific information regarding these disclosures that occurred after April 3rd, 2023, you may request a shorter time frame the right to receive this information is subject to certain exceptions, restrictions, and limitations. You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice from us upon request, even if you have agreed to accept this Notice electronically.                                                               To Report a Problem or File a Complaint                                                                                                                     If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can report a problem to the office of The Guiding Beacon at 314 highway 12 W, Starkville Ms. 39759 (662) 617-8023 or at theguidingbeaconyahoo.com. There will be no retaliation or denial of treatment for filling a complaint. We reserve the right to challenge the terms of this Notice, making any revisions applicable to all information we maintain. If we revise the terms of this Notice, we will post a revised Notice at The Guiding Beacon and will make paper copies of this Notice of Privacy Practices available upon request. Understanding your Information                                                                                                                               A record of your visit is made each time you visit The Guiding Beacon for classes, events, or services. Typically, this record contains your information: name, date, Date of Birth, symptoms brief description of services, and a plan for future care. This information, serves as a basis for planning your care, a means of communication among professionals who contribute to your care, legal document describing the care you received, a means by which you or third-party can verify that services billed were actually provided, a tool in educating students/professionals, source of data for the faculty planning, and marketing tool with which we can access assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcome we achieve.                                                                                                                                                      Understanding what is in your record and how your information is used helps you to:                          ensure its accuracy better, understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your information, and make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.                        What is this notice?                                                                                                                                                   This Notice of Privacy Practices described how we may use and disclosure information to conduct care, payment, or operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your right regarding your information. The ways that the information can be used and released by members of The Guiding Beacon. The rights that clients have concerning their information and the responsibilities other providers and payers use and release client information.                                         What is” information”?                                                                                                                                                Information is past, present, and future information created or received by The Guiding Beacon through its providers. It includes demographic information that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future health condition (physical, spiritual, or mental), the providing care of care to you, or payment for the care received.                                                                                                                             Who will follow this notice?                                                                                                                                     This notice describes The Guiding Beacons practices and that of:                                                                   Any person authorized to enter information into your record. Any member of a volunteer group, vendor, or third party we allow to help while you're at The Guiding Beacon. All employees, staff, students, professionals, or personnel. In addition, The Guiding Beacon may share information with each other for care, payment or operation purposes described in this notice. The staff of The Guiding Beacon consist of professionals, students, and other allied care providers who are credentialed to be on staff of The Guiding Beacon. Some of the staff are employees but others are independent practitioners who have been granted the privilege of using NMMC hospital for the care and treatment of patients. The physicians on the staff. When using the information that is obtained for care of a client at The Guiding Beacon and for payment for those services, providers staff of the guiding beacon will follow the guiding beacon privacy practice at their practices providers will follow their own privacy practices for information created or maintained at the private offices.                                                                                                                                     How does The Guiding Beacon protect information internally?                                                                     Access to information is restricted only to those employees, volunteers, staff, and allied care professionals who need to provide services, products, or benefits to our clients. We maintain physical, technical and safeguards to protect information against unauthorized use and disclosure. We are responsible for, educating The Guiding Beacon personnel about, and overseeing the implementation and enforcement of this policy.