ARMOR’S NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES FOR ITS WORKFORCE

Privacy of Your Confidential Information.

This Notice describes how your information may be used by Armor and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

If you suspect improper use or access to confidential information, please notify Armor immediately. Contact Armor’s Compliance and Incident Hotline at 1 (877) 662-7667 or via email at hipaacompliance@armorcorrectional.com.

As your employer, we care about the privacy of your confidential information. This Notice describes our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights regarding your confidential information. This notice took effect on September 7, 2011 and will stay in effect until it is updated or changed. It may be necessary to revise or update our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights over time, but we will let you know before the changes go into effect.

Your Confidential Information.

Each employee generates confidential information.

Your Rights.

The law gives you certain rights that pertain to your confidential information. As an Armor Employee you have the right to:

• Request and receive a copy of this privacy notice at any time.
• View or request a copy of your confidential information. (A copying fee will be applied.)
• Ask for added limits on permitted uses of your confidential information. There may be reasons we cannot agree to this request. If we agree to your request, we will keep our agreement except to make records available to a provider when necessary for your treatment in a medical emergency or disaster.
• Request and receive a list of third parties we disclose your information to for certain, permitted reasons described in this notice.
• Ask that your confidential information be sent by reasonable means other than mail or be sent to a different address to avoid putting your life in danger.
• Request to change or add to your confidential information. We may deny your request if we did not create the information or for certain other reasons. If we deny your request, we will explain why in writing. If you do not agree with our denial, you may send us a written statement of disagreement that will be added to your record.

Our Duties.

Armor must:

• Provide statutory protection for the privacy of your confidential information.
• Give you a notice of our privacy practices.
• Follow the terms of this privacy notice.
• Fulfill your request to send information by other means or to another address to avoid putting your life in danger. Your request must be reasonable and must state the other address or the means you wish us to use.
• Use and share only the information needed to do our jobs.
• Make sure our business partners agree to protect your information the same way that we do.

We will not use or share your confidential information except as required by law or described in this notice.

How Confidential Information is used.

In today’s health care system, there are three key areas where we need to use your confidential information. We may use it for treatment, payment, and other health care operations. We may also contract with other parties to do the work for us, as long as they promise to protect your information the same way we do. Each area is described below.

Treatment: This includes services needed to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care. As your employer, we may need to share confidential information with your doctor or other health care providers for treatment reasons.

Payment: We may need to bill or collect for healthcare services provided.

Health Care Operations: This may include our quality review and improvement activities, business management and administration, quality compliance, competency and other operations.

Other Uses of the Information.

There may be a time when the use of your confidential information is needed because it benefits you, serves the public interest, or is required by law. In these cases, we will use and share only the confidential information needed or as required by law. Please read all of these other uses carefully.

For Underwriting: We may receive your confidential information to create, renew, or replace a contract of health insurance or health benefits. We will not use or further disclose this information for any other reasons except as required by law. If the contract of health insurance or health benefits is placed with us, then we will use and share your confidential information only as described in this notice.

With Your Written Permission: You may give us written permission to use your information or share it with someone you name for any purpose. You may withdraw your permission in writing at any time. We will honor your request unless the timing is such that the information has already been shared.

During an Emergency or Disaster: During a medical emergency or disaster, if it is believed that disclosure of the information would be in your best interest, then we may disclose it. This would be done to make sure you have access to the services you need or to process payment for those services.

To Report to Authorities: We may need to share confidential information if we suspect abuse, neglect or domestic violence. As required by law, we may need to make such a report to the authorities.

For Research Purposes: We may use or share information with researchers when their work has been approved by an institutional review board that has gone over the research project and set rules to make sure that your confidential information is kept private.

To Comply with the Privacy Law: We may use or share information as required by the privacy law. For example, to see if we are complying with the law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services may review our practices and ask us for some confidential information.

For Workers’ Compensation: We may disclose information to comply with laws on workers’ compensation or other similar programs.

For Public Health: We may share your confidential information with public health or legal authorities who work to prevent or control disease, injury, or disability in the community. For example, we may share information about problems related to food, drugs, supplements, and product defects with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

For Health Oversight: We may share information with authorities for activities to prevent fraud and abuse, audits, investigations, inspections, licenses, and other government activities to monitor health care.

For Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: We may share your information in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena, or other lawful process, under certain circumstances.

For Law Enforcement Purposes: Under limited circumstances, such as a court order, warrant, or grand jury subpoena, we may disclose your information to law enforcement officials.

For Military or National Security Purposes: Under certain conditions, we may share the confidential information of armed forces staff with military authorities. We may also share your information with federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities.

For More Information or to Report a Problem.

If you have questions or would like more information on Armor’s privacy practices, you may contact us using the information at the end of this notice.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us using the contact information at the end of this notice. You may also send a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you choose to file a complaint, you have our assurance we will not retaliate in any way.

Thank you for taking the time to review Armor’s Notice of Privacy Practices. As your employer, we work hard to protect your confidential information. We know the privacy of this information is important to you, and we take our duties very seriously.

Send Armor correspondence to:
Armor Privacy Office
Attention: Privacy Official
4960 SW 72nd Ave., Suite 400
Miami, Florida 33155
1 (877) 662-7667

Send U.S. Department of Health and Human Services correspondence to:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
(202) 619-0257
Toll free: 1 (877) 696-6775