APO, Community Health is committed to protecting the privacy of individual health information in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the regulations promulgated there under. Our policies and procedures apply to protected health information created, acquired, or maintained by the designated covered components of APO after April 14, 2003. For further details regarding these policies and procedures see 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164. 

APO is a covered entity as defined in 45 C.F.R. §164.103 and includes both covered and non-covered components.

The designated covered components may not share protected health information with non-covered components of APO, unless specifically permitted by the privacy regulations. It is the responsibility of each designated covered component to assure that their employees, students, volunteers, etc. comply with these policies and procedures. A designated covered component may develop and incorporate additional policies and procedures if doing so is necessary and appropriate to comply with more stringent state laws.¹ However, a designated covered component may not delete sections our policies and procedures without first consulting the Privacy Officer or the Security Officer.

¹ HIPAA ensures a federal standard (a “floor”) of privacy protections. State privacy laws may be more stringent than the HIPAA privacy rule.  In those cases, the more stringent state law will apply.

Notice Informing Individuals About Nondiscrimination and Accessibility Requirements and Nondiscrimination Statement:

Discrimination is Against the Law

APO, Community Health Center complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (consistent with the scope of sex discrimination described at 45 CFR § 92.101(a)(2)).  APO does not exclude people or treat them less favorably because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.

 

 APO:

·      Provides people with disabilities reasonable modifications and free appropriate auxiliary aids and services to communicate effectively with us, such as:

o  Qualified sign language interpreters

o  Written information in other formats (large print, audio, accessible electronic formats, other formats)

·      Provide free language assistance services to people whose primary language is not English, which may include:

o  Qualified interpreters

o  Information written in other languages.

 

       If you need reasonable modifications, appropriate auxiliary aids and services, or language assistance services, contact your case worker or the clinic director. (417-881-1900)

 

If you believe that APO has failed to provide these services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex, you can file a grievance with the Compliance Office/1557 Coordinator, 1636 S Glenstone, Ave, Suite 100, Springfield, MO 65804, 417-881-1900 Xt 1118. You can file a grievance in person or by mail. If you need help filing a grievance, The Compliance Department/1557 Coordinator is available to help you.

 

You can also file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal, available at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/portal/lobby.jsf, or by mail or phone at:

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

200 Independence Avenue, SW

Room 509F, HHH Building

Washington, D.C. 20201

1-800-368-1019, 800-537-7697 (TDD)

 

Complaint forms are available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/office/file/index.html.