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Policy 4: Policy on Patient Requests for Restriction of PHI <br /> North State Medical Transport <br /> Policy on Patient Requests for Restriction of <br /> Protected Health Information <br /> Purpose <br /> The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") and the <br /> Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH Act") grant <br /> individuals the right to request that North State Medical Transport restrict its use of PHI <br /> containedinaOesignatedRecnrdSet (''ORS"). (See, Policy on Designated Record Sets). North <br /> State Medical Transport has an obligation to abide by a requested restriction in accordance <br /> with federal and state law. To ensure that North State Medical Transport complies with its <br /> obligations under HIPAA and the HITECH Act, this policy outlines procedures for handling <br /> requests for restrictions on the use of PHI and establishes the procedures by which patients or <br /> their authorized representatives may request a restriction on the use of PHI. <br /> Scope <br /> This policy applies to all North State Medical Transport staff members who handle <br /> requests from patients for a restriction on the use of their PHI. Generally, all requests will be <br /> directed to the HIPAA Compliance Officer and it shall be the responsibility of the HIPAA <br /> Compliance Officer to handle all requests for restrictions on the use of PHI. <br /> Procedure <br /> Requests for Restriction <br /> 1. North State Medical Transport will permit patients to request restrictions on the use <br /> and disclosure of their PHI: (i) to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations <br /> and/or (ii) to people involved in their care or for notification purposes. <br /> Z. All requests for restriction on the use and disclosure of PHI shall be referred to the <br /> HIPAA Compliance Officer who shall request that the patient or authorized <br /> representative complete and submit North State Medical Transport's "Patient Request <br /> for Restriction of Protected Health |nfornnation" Form. All requests will be reviewed and <br /> denied or approved by the HIPAA Compliance Officer in accordance with this policy. The <br /> HIPAA Compliance Officer shall utilize the "Review of Patient Request for Restriction of <br /> Protected Health |nforrnation" Form when reviewing restriction requests. <br /> 3. The HIPAA Compliance Officer must verify the patient's identity, or, if the requestor is <br /> not the patient, the name and identify of the representative and whether the <br />