Advance Directives

wishes about treatment, including stopping treatment. If your treatment wishes are not known, the surrogate must try to determine what is in your best interest. The people providing your healthcare must follow the decisions of your agent or surrogate unless a requested treatment would be bad medical practice or ineffective in helping you. If this causes disagreement that cannot be worked out, the provider must make a reasonable effort to find another healthcare provider to take over your treatment.

Will I still be treated if I don’t make an advance directive?

Absolutely. You will still get medical treatment. We just want you to know that if you become too sick to make decisions, someone else will have to make them for you. Remember that:

A Power of Attorney for Health Care lets you name an agent to make decisions for you. Your agent can make most medical decisions—not just those about life sustaining treatment—when you can’t speak for yourself. You can also let your agent make decisions earlier, if you wish.

You can create and Individual Healthcare Instruction by writing down your wishes about healthcare or by talking with your doctor and asking the doctor to record your wishes in your medical file. If you know when you would or would not want certain types of treatment, an Instruction provides a good way to make your wishes clear to your doctor and to anyone else who may be involved in deciding about treatment on your behalf. These two types of Advance Health Care Directives may be used together or separately.

How do I get more information about making an advance directive?

Ask your doctor, nurse, social worker, or healthcare provider to get more information for you. You can have a lawyer write an advance directive for you, or you can complete an advance directive by filling in the blanks on a form.

If you wish to receive more information regarding an Advance Directive, you may contact the Department of Patient and Family Services at 951-486-4350.

Your medical bill will include charges for the care and hospital services you receive during your visit. Your personal physician, hospital-based physician, or other physicians who have consulted on your care will send you separate statements directly from their practice.

If you have questions, please call the customer services number listed on your statement. You information a pati consider whether you may qualify for assistance under Healthy Families, Medicare, etc., and to discuss payment care, charity care, and long-term payment plans. If yo or if you are having trouble paying your bills, let us know. A patient representative can work with you and guide you to services that can help.

MEDI-CAL

We will need a copy of your Medi-Cal card to v limitations on a number of services and items. Some Medi-Cal recipients must pay, or agree to pay, a monthly dollar amount toward their medical expenses before they quality for Medi-Cal benefits. This dollar amount is called Share of Cost (SOC). If it is determined during the eligibility verification process that there is an outstanding Share of Cost, it is payable upon request or the recipient may enter into a Share of Cost obligation agreement to pay for the services at a later date or through an installment

Medicare

If you have Medicare, you a MSP (Medicare Secondary Payer) questionnaire. This not covered by other insurance you may have. If you have secondary insurance, this usually covers Medicare deductibles. If you don’t have secondary insurance, you need to pay these amounts

Privacy And Your Health Information

You have privacy rights under Federal and State laws that protect your health information. These rights are important for you to know. Federal and State laws set rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information.

Who must Follow This Law?

•

Most doctors, nurses, pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and many other healthcare providers.

• Receive a notice that tells you how your health information may be used and shared.

•Decide if you want to give your permission before your health information can be used or shared for certain purposes, such as marketing.

•Get a report on when and why your health information was shared for certain purposes.

• File a complaint.

•

Health insurance companies, HMOs and most employer group health plans.

• Certain government programs that pay for healthcare, such as Medi-Cal and Medicare.

What Information is Protected?

• Information your doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers put in your medical records.

• Conversations your doctor has with nurses and others regarding your care or treatment.

• Information about you in your health insurer’s computer system.

• Billing information about you at your clinic.

• Most other health information about you held by those who must follow the law.

You Have Rights Over Your Health Information

Providers and Health Insurers who are required to follow this law must comply with your right to:

•Ask to see and get a copy of your health records.

•Have corrections added to your health information.

Your Information Can Be Used and Shared:

• For your treatment and care coordination.

• To pay for doctors and hospitals for your healthcare and help run their business.

• With your family, relatives, and friends or others you identify who are involved with your healthcare or your healthcare bills, unless you object.

•

To protect the public’s health, such as by reporting when the flu is in your area.

•

To make required reports to the police, such as reporting gunshot wounds

Without Your Written Permission, Your Provider Cannot:

• Give your health information to your employer,except as permitted by law.

•Use or share your health information for marketing or advertising purposes.

• Share private notes about your mental health counseling sessions.

County Of Riverside Notice Of Privacy Practices

This Notice describes how medical information about you may be used and shared and how you can obtain access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have the right to: Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record

Ask us to correct your medical record

• You can ask to see or get copies of your medical record. Ask us how to do this.

• We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

• You can ask us to change health information about you if it is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.

• We may say “no” to your request, but if we say no, we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

• You may also add a written add-on to your medical record about the statement in your record that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.

Request confidential communications

Ask us to limit what we share

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

• You have the right to receive confidential communications of protected health information as provided in 45 CFR §164.522(b), as applicable and can ask us to communicate with you in a certain way (for example: home, cell, or office phone or to send mail to a certain address).

• If you have paid for an item or service in full, you can ask us not to share that information about the item or service with a health plan We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

• You can ask us for a list (called an “accounting”) of times we’ve shared your health information during the last six years before the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.

• We will provide one (1) accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another accounting within 12 months.

• You can file a complaint by contacting us at (951) 486-4659 or r.compliance@ruhealth.org.

• You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by using the information on page 4.

• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.