1107 Payne Avenue Erie, PA 16503 Voice TTY: 814-874-0064 Fax: 814-874-3497
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VFI Bulletin Board

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Voices for Independence

Anyone has the right to ask for a paper copy of this Notice at any time.


Q. Why are you providing this Notice to me?

A. We are required by a new federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) to make sure that your Protected Health Information (PHI) is kept private. We must give you this Notice of our legal duties and Privacy Practices with respect to your PHI. We are also required to follow the terms of the Notice that is currently in effect. PHI includes information that we have created or received about your past, present or future health or medical condition that could be used to identify you. It also includes information about your medical treatment you have received and about payment for services you have received. We are required to tell you how, when, and why we use and/or share your Protected Health Information (PHI).



Q. How and when can you use or disclose my PHI?

A. HIPAA and other laws allow or require us to use or disclose your PHI for many different reasons. We can use or disclose your PHI for some reasons without your written agreement. For other reasons, we need you to agree in writing that we can use or disclose your PHI. We describe in this Notice the reasons we may use your PHI without getting your permission. Not every use or disclosure is listed, but the ways we can use and disclose information fall within one of the descriptions below.

To get payment for your services. We may use or disclose your PHI in order to bill and get paid for services you receive. For example, we may give parts of your PHI to our accounting department or others who do these things for us. They can use it to make sure your providers are paid correctly for the services you receive.

To operate our business. We may use and disclose your PHI in order to administer our services. For example, we may use your PHI in order to review and improve the quality of services you receive. We may also provide your PHI to our accountants, attorneys, consultants and others in order to make sure we are obeying the laws that affect us. Another time when we might provide PHI to other organizations is when we ask them to tell us about the quality of our services and how we operate our business. Before we share PHI with other organizations, they must agree to keep your PHI private.

To meet legal requirements. We share PHI with government or law enforcement agencies when federal, state or local laws require us to do so. We also share PHI when we are required to in a court or other legal proceeding. For example, if a law says we must report private information about the people who have been abused, neglected or are victims of domestic violence, we share PHI.

To report health activities. We share PHI with government officials in charge of collecting certain public health information. For example, we may share PHI about births, deaths and some diseases. We may provide coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors information that relates to a person’s death.

For health oversight activities. We may share PHI if a government agency is investigating or inspecting a health care provider or organization.

For workers’ compensation purposes. We may share PHI to obey workers’ compensation laws.

For Other Uses and Disclosures Require Your Prior Written Agreement. In other situations we will ask for your written permission before we use or disclose your PHI. You may decide later that you no longer want to agree to a certain use of your PHI for which we received your permission. If so, you may tell us that in writing. We will then stop using your PHI for that certain situation. However, we may have already used your PHI. If we had your permission to use your PHI when we used it, you cannot take back your agreement for those past situations.

Q. Will you give my PHI to my family, friends, or others?

A. No, only to those persons authorized by you.

Q. What are my rights with respect to my PHI?

A. You have the right to limit how we use your PHI. We will honor these limits except in emergency situations. You have the right to ask that we send your PHI to an address of your choice or to ask us to communicate with you in a certain way that is necessary to protect your PHI. Please make this request in writing. You have the right to get copies of your PHI. Please put your requests in writing and allow us 15 days after we receive your request to respond. Should you request a second copy of your PHI in a given year, you will be charged a reasonable fee, based on the cost of copying and postage.
You have the right to ask us to correct your PHI or add missing information. Please contact our office and allow 15 days to respond to any such request. We may deny your request for correction if the incorrect or missing information was not created by us or is not part of our records. At such time you may file a written statement of disagreement explaining why you believe the information is not correct.

Q. How may I complain about your Privacy Practices?

A. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, please put your complaint in writing to the Executive Director of Voices for Independence. If you believe your concern was not resolved, you may then contact the Board of Directors of Voices for Independence. You may also make a complaint to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint about our privacy practices.

Q. How will I know if my rights described in this Notice change?

A. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and our Privacy Policies at anytime. The new Notice will apply to all of your PHI. If we change this Notice, we will mail you a copy of the new Notice.

Q. Who should I contact to get more information or to get a copy of this Notice?

A. Should you have questions regarding this notice or you would like another copy, please visit our website at www.voicesforindependence.org or contact your Service Coordinator.

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