Anchor Health & Wellness, LLC, Privacy Notice
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule (HIPAA) gives you the right to be informed of the privacy practices of Anchor Health & Wellness health information for the treatment of patients, to obtain payment for treatment, and for purposes of healthcare operations.
This notice explains our legal duties to protect your protected health information (PHI) and describes how Anchor Health & Wellness may use and disclose your medical information. If you have any questions, contact Anchor Health & Wellness at admin@anchorhealthandwellness.org.
WHAT IS PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION?
Protected Health Information (PHI) is information that can identify you as a patient of Anchor Health & Wellness. The information can be paper, electronic, or another format. Examples of PHI include:
Medical records such as provider’s notes, orders, diagnostic results and reports
Demographic information such as your name, address and date of birth, if combined with your medical information, and
Billing and payment information.
WHO WILL FOLLOW THIS NOTICE?
This notice describes the privacy practices of all clinical organizations providing medical services that are owned or controlled by Anchor Health & Wellness which are required to have a Notice of Privacy Practices. A complete listing of organizations is available by contacting Compliance. Our Affiliated Covered Entities (legally separate covered entities under common ownership or control), our medical staff, and employees, may share PHI for the joint management and operation of these entities for your treatment, payment of your claims, and for health care operational purposes. This sharing does not mean that one organization is responsible for the activities of another, but means we are all committed to protecting our patients’ privacy rights.
This Notice also outlines the privacy practices of an Organized Health Care Arrangement (OHCA) between Anchor Health & Wellness and certain affiliated organizations. Through Anchor Health & Wellness, the Participating Covered Entities have established one or more integrated health care systems. Within these systems, the entities collaborate on quality assurance efforts and/or share financial risk related to health care delivery. As a result, they qualify to operate as an OHCA under the Privacy Rule. As part of this arrangement, all Participating Covered Entities may share PHI for the OHCA’s Health Care Operations purposes. For a complete listing of Participating Covered Entities, please reach out to Anchor Health & Wellness staff.
OUR PLEDGE REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION
We are required by law to create and maintain medical records, charts, and files of the care and services you receive at Anchor Health & Wellness. We also use this information to provide quality care to our patients. We understand that your health and medical care are personal. We are committed to protecting your information.
We are required by law to:
make sure your PHI is private and secure
notify you after a breach of your unsecured PHI, if required by law
provide this notice of our legal duties and describe ways we may use and share your PHI
follow the terms in this notice, and
follow Illinois laws that may provide greater protection of your information.
HOW WE MAY USE AND SHARE YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
The following categories summarize ways we may use and share your medical information without your permission:
to provide you with care
obtain payment for that care, and
operate our business.
For Treatment: We may use and share your medical information to provide treatment or services to you. We may disclose your health information to doctors, therapists, clinical students, office staff or other personnel involved in your care, whether at Anchor Health & Wellness or at another facility. For example, a provider treating you for high blood pressure may need to know if you have other medical conditions or if you are taking medications that impact your care.
Individuals Assisting with Your Care: We may share your medical information to people involved in your care, such as family members, close friends, clergy, parents, legal guardians or another person you identify as someone to contact in an emergency or being involved in your care.
For Payment: We may use and share your information to obtain payment from you, your insurance company, or another person/entity you identify for services received. For example, we may disclose PHI regarding a service you received from us so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the service. We may also tell your health plan about a service you are going to receive to obtain prior approval, or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.
For Health Care Operations: We may use and share information about you for business tasks necessary for our operations. Examples of how we may use and disclose our patients’ information for our internal operations include:
reviewing our treatment and services, and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you
deciding what additional services Anchor Health & Wellness might offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain treatments are effective
providing you with general information about Anchor Health & Wellness and our services in newsletters and other communications
comparing our services with the services of other health care providers to see where we can make improvements in the care we provide
Business Associates: We may disclose PHI to our business associates to enable them to perform services for us, or on our behalf, relating to our operations. Some examples of business associates are auditors, accrediting agencies, consultants, and billing and collections companies. Our business associates are required to maintain the same standards of safeguarding your privacy that we require of our own employees and affiliates.
Other Uses and Disclosures: As part of our treatment, payment and business operations, we may use and share your information to remind you of an appointment, to communicate changes to an appointment, to inform you of potential treatment alternatives or options, and to inform you of health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
Anchor Health & Wellness may use or share your information in the following special situations:
Required By Law: We will disclose your information to authorities as required by federal, state or local law. Examples include:
to respond to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process
to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person
to provide information about a crime victim if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement
in mandatory reporting situations, including reason to suspect domestic, child or elder abuse or neglect
to report a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct
to inform the Illinois Department of Human Services FOID reporting system when an individual receiving mental health treatment is developmentally or intellectually disabled or is a clear and present danger to themselves or others
to report criminal conduct at an Anchor Health & Wellness facility
to assist the Federal Food and Drug Administration with tracking medical devices and products, and
to enable a government agency to conduct audits, investigations, or inspections
For Public Health, Safety and Oversight Activities: We may use and share your information when required for public health, safety, and oversight activities, or as necessary to prevent a serious threat to the health and safety of you, the public or another person. We may share your information to report, prevent, or control disease, injury, or disability.
Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors: We may share your information with coroners, medical examiners, or funeral home personnel in order for them to carry out their duties.
Disaster Relief Efforts: We may use or share your information with disaster relief organizations to notify your family or other persons involved in your health care about your location, general condition, or death. We will not make such disclosures if you object, unless we believe restricting the disclosure would interfere with the ability to respond to the emergency.
POTENTIAL IMPACT OF OTHER APPLICABLE LAWS
HIPAA generally does not override other laws that give people greater privacy protections. As a result, if any applicable state or federal privacy law requires us to provide you with more privacy protections, then we must follow that law.
Certain types of information may have special protections or restrictions under federal or state law. Examples may include mental health records, certain genetic test results, HIV/AIDS test results, and federally assisted alcohol and substance abuse treatment program records.
Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records: Records related to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment may only be used or disclosed consistent with 42 CFR Part 2. We may not disclose SUD treatment records for civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings without specific patient consent or a court order, accompanied by a subpoena or legal document compelling disclosure, and the time frame for an opportunity for you to be heard has expired. Programs maintaining SUD records may ask you for a single consent for all future uses and disclosures for treatment, payment and healthcare operations consistent with HIPAA. Programs may create and maintain SUD counseling notes, which are the private notes taken by your providers during counseling sessions. We require your specific written authorization for the disclosure of these records, which cannot be included in a broader consent for treatment, payment or health care operations.
We may use information from your Part 2 records for fundraising. You have the right to opt out of fundraising communications involving your SUD records.
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
You have the following rights regarding your Protected Health Information that we maintain:
Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of most of your medical information we maintain. You may be required to submit your request to inspect and/or obtain a copy of your information in writing to the Health Information Management department. There may be costs associated with requests for copying or mailing. We may deny your request to inspect or copy your information in limited circumstances. If we deny you access to certain information we maintain, you may request the denial be reviewed. A licensed health care professional chosen by Anchor Health & Wellness will review your request and denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.
Right to Amend Certain Records: You have the right to request an amendment (correction or additional information) to your medical information we maintain. If you feel the medical information we have is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request an amendment by submitting a written request to the Health Information Management department. The request must include the reason for the amendment. You may also request an amendment by using our form Request for an Amendment of Health Information which can be obtained from our Health Information Management department.
We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. We may also deny your request if you ask us to amend information:
not created by us
not part of the medical information we maintain in our files
restricted by law, or
deemed accurate and complete.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an Accounting of Disclosures. This is a list of disclosures we have made of your medical information outside of Anchor Health & Wellness, other than those:
specifically authorized by you
related to your treatment
to obtain payment for products or services we provided to you
used for our healthcare operations, and
certain disclosures authorized by the government.
To request an Accounting of Disclosures, you must submit a written request to the Anchor Health & Wellness. You must specify the period of time for which the accounting will span, which may not be longer than six years. The first request within a 12-month period will be free. We may charge you a nominal fee for additional lists, but will notify you of the cost so you may choose to stop or change your request before costs are incurred.
Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the use or disclosure of your medical information for treatment, payment, or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the information we disclose about you to those involved in your care or with the payment for your care, like a family member or friend.
We are not required to agree to your restriction request. If we agree to a restriction, we will comply unless the information is needed to provide emergency treatment or services. To restrict medical information, submit your written request to the Health Information Management department. Your request must include:
the information you want to restrict
whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both, and
to whom you want the limits to apply (for example, disclosures to your spouse).
If you restrict our use or sharing of your medical information for payment purposes, you will be financially responsible for all products and services you receive from us.
Right to Request Confidential Communications: You may ask us to send documents that contain your medical information to a different location than the address you gave us or using other means. You may ask us to contact you in a specific way, such as home or office phone. You will need to ask us in writing. We will try to grant any reasonable requests for confidential or alternate communications.
Right to Additional Copies of This Notice: Additional copies of this Notice can be obtained by notifying Anchor Health & Wellness in writing.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We have the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice. If we make a material change to our privacy practices, we will provide you with a revised notice at your next visit after the revision or electronically as permitted by applicable law. In all cases, we will post the revised notice on our website. We reserve the right to make any revised notice effective for information we already have or may receive in the future.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.
OTHER USES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
Other uses and disclosures of your medical information not covered by this Notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization. If you provide written authorization you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your medical information for the purposes covered by your written authorization; however we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made.
REQUIRED NOTICES
Anchor Health & Wellness provides free language services to people whose primary language is not English, such as qualified interpreters for information written in other languages. Anchor Health & Wellness provides people with disabilities reasonable modifications and free appropriate auxiliary aids and services to communicate effectively with us, such as qualified sign language interpreters written information in other formats (large print, audio, accessible electronic formats). Please notify Anchor Health & Wellness if you need an interpreter or other modification in communication based on your language and/or need.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Additionally, to get a copy of your medical information or to request an amendment, record restriction, or an accounting of disclosures, submit your written request to:
Anchor Health & Wellness, PO Box 186, Mahomet, IL 61853
The Effective Date of this Notice January 1, 2026.