The Brown County Board of Developmental Disabilities understands that your personal information needs to be kept private. Protecting your personal information is important. We follow strict federal and state laws that require us to keep your personal information confidential.
HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
When you receive services from the Brown County Board of DD, we may use your personal information for such activities as providing you with services, billing for services, and conducting our normal board business known as health care operations.
If you have chosen a personal representative and have agreed to let your personal representative obtain your personal information, we will provide the information to your personal representative. If you have a guardian we will provide the information to your guardian.
EXAMPLE OF HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION INCLUDE:
Treatment: We keep records of the care and services provided to you within the Brown County Board of DD. For example, your service and support administrator keeps notes and contacts made in arranging for services. The Brown County Board of DD staff may share your personal information while helping to develop your service plan.
If the Brown County Board of DD staff want to share your personal information with anyone who is not employed by the Brown County Board of DD, you must give them written permission first. Some personal records, including confidential communications with a mental health professional and substance abuse records, may have additional restrictions for use and disclosure under state and federal law.
Payment:
We keep records that include payment information and documentation of services provided to you. Your information may be used to obtain payment for your services from Medicaid, insurance or other sources. For example, we may disclose personal information about the services provided to you to confirm your eligibility for Medicaid and to obtain payment from Medicaid. The Brown County Board of DD may use your personal information to determine the amount and type of Medicaid services you need and send this information to the proper state department.
Health Care Operations:
We use personal information to improve the quality of care, train staff, manage costs, conduct required business duties, and make plans to better serve you and other individuals to determine eligibility for Brown County Board of DD services. For example, we may use your personal information to evaluate the quality of treatment and services provided by service providers as well as the development for service plans to better inform direct care staff of health care needs.
OTHER SERVICES WE PROVIDE
We may also use your personal information to:
• Determine whether you are eligible for services from the Brown County Board of DD
• Recommend to you service alternatives and other possible benefits
• Tell you about other service providers who may be able to help you
• To allow the Brown County Board of DD to review direct service contracts
• Allow local, state and federal agencies to monitor your services
• To investigate incidents affecting health and safety, to report these kind of incidents and to take steps to protect your health and safety
• To allow the Brown County Board of DD to prepare reports required by the Ohio Department of DD and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
• Contact you for assistance in passing levies, unless you notify the Brown County Board of DD that you do not wish to be contacted for these purposes
MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the practices and rights described in this notice please contact
Brown County Board of Developmental Disabilities
325 West State Street, Building A, Suite 2
Georgetown, Ohio 45121
937-378-4891
SHARING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
There are limited situations when we are permitted or required to disclose personal information without your authorization. These situations are:
• To protect victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
• To reduce or prevent a serious threat to public health and safety
• For health oversight activities such as investigations, audits, and inspections
• For lawsuits and similar proceedings
• For public health purposes such as reporting communicable diseases, work related illnesses, or other diseases and injuries permitted by law; reporting births and deaths, and reporting reactions to drugs and problems with medical devices
• When required by law
• When requested by law enforcement as required by law or court order
• To coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors
• For organ and tissue donations
• For workers’ compensation or other similar programs if you are injured at work and are covered by workers’ compensation or other similar programs
• For specialized government functions such as intelligence and national security
All other uses and disclosures, not described in this notice, require your signed authorization. You may revoke your authorization at any time with a written statement.
OUR PRIVACY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Brown County Board of DD is required by law to:
• Maintain the privacy of your personal information
• Provide this notice that describes the ways we may use and share your personal information
• Follow the terms of the notice currently in effect
We reserve the right to make changes to this notice at any time and make the new privacy practices effective for all information we maintain.
Current notices will be posted in the Brown County Board of Developmental Disabilities, 325 West State Street, Building A, Suite 2, Georgetown, Ohio 45121 or you may request a copy of any notice from the Brown County Board of DD Privacy Officer.
YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
You have the right to:
• Request restrictions on how we use and share your personal information. We will consider all requests for restrictions carefully but are not required to agree to any restriction. *
• Request that we use a specific telephone number or address to communicate with you
• Inspect and copy your personal information, including service, medical and billing records. Fees may apply.*
• Request corrections or additions to your personal information. You must give the reasons for wanting the change. *
• Request an accounting of certain disclosures or your personal information made by us. Your request must state the period of time desired for the accounting, which must be within six years prior to your request. The first accounting is free but a fee will apply if more than one request is made in a 12-month period. *
• Request a paper copy of this notice even if you agree to receive it electronically
Requests marked with * must be made in writing.
OUR ORGANIZATION
This notice describes the privacy practices of the Brown County Board of DD. This notice also describes the privacy practices of persons or entities which have signed a contract with the Brown County Board of DD and which are acting as business associates, and have promised to follow the same rules of confidentiality.
The Brown County Board of DD includes:
Brown County Board of DD employees. The Southern Ohio Council of Governments is a Business associate of the Brown County Board of DD.
If you want to know about the privacy of service providers, who are not employed by the Brown County Board of DD and who are not business associates, you should contact them directly.
Contact us:
If you would like further information about your privacy rights, or concerned that your privacy rights have been violated, or disagree with a decision that we made about access to your personal information.
Contact Brown County Board of DD
HIPAA Privacy Officer – 325 West State Street, Building A, Suite 2, Georgetown, Ohio 45121 or call 937-378-4891.
We will investigate all complaints and will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. You also may file a written complaint with either:
Secretary of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, D. C. 20201 or call 1-877-696-6755
Or
The Office for Civil Rights, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Room 509F, HHH Building, Washington, D.C. 20201 or call OCR’s hotline at 1-800-368-1019 or e-mail at ocrmail@hhs.gov
Privacy Policy:
No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.