2016-698 Emergency Svc - North State Medical Transport - Application for Services Franchise by Ordinance

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member can simply infer from the circumstances that the patient does not object to sharing the information with the individual. For example, if the patient's neighbor asks to ride along in the ambulance and the patient smiles, the staff member could infer that the patient is fine with the neighbor riding along and overhearing any PHI that is discussed. Or, if the staff member starts asking the patient about his or her medical history and the patient motions for a family member to come over, the staff member can infer that the patient wants the staff member to speak with the family member about his or her medical history. 4. If the patient is unavailable or unable to make medical decisions because of a physical or mental reason at the time of the request,then the staff member may only disclose PHI to the requestor if the requestor is involved with the patient's treatment or payment for the patient's treatment and the staff member believes that releasing PHI to the requestor is in the best interests of the patient. First, the staff member should ask the requestor what his or her relationship is to the patient. Then, the staff member should determine whether disclosure of PHI to the requestor would be in the best interest of the patient. In making this determination, the staff member should consider things such as: a. Who the requestor is and what the requestor's relationship is to the patient b. Whether the requestor appears to have a legitimate interest in the patient's care or payment for that care c. Whether the staff member believes that the patient would want that requestor to know the PHI or whether the patient would benefit from the requestor knowing the PHI 5. If the patient is deceased, a staff member may release relevant PHI to family members and others who were involved in the deceased patient's care prior to death or payment for care, unless doing so would be inconsistent with any prior expressed preference of the patient. The staff member should only disclose PHI that is relevant to the requestor's involvement with the patient's care prior to death or payment for that care.