This Joint Notice applies to the privacy practices of the Affiliated Entities and the entities participating in the Organized Health Care Arrangement described below for the sole purpose of complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health of 2009 (HITECH), and with applicable Texas laws. These entities are viewed as participating in a joint arrangement for the sole purpose of using and disclosing your health information created within or received by any one or more Affiliated Entities for your treatment, entity payment and entity operations. These Affiliated Entities include, but may not be limited to:
The Affiliated Entities and the Physicians and Allied Professionals who have privileges to practice at such entities participate in an Organized Health Care Arrangement (OHCA) for the sole purpose of complying with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The entities participating in the OHCA may share your medical information with each other as necessary to carry out treatment, payment and health care operations as described in this Joint Notice.
Some non-employed, affiliated physicians use Community Connect, an extension of Memorial Hermann’s Epic System (our electronic medical record platform), as their medical record and patient portal. These physicians and their office staff may have access to your health information.
This Joint Notice does not apply to your medical information in the custody of any of those nonemployed, affiliated physicians or how your medical information is used or disclosed by or through them solely because of their use of Community Connect. This Joint Notice does not apply to your medical information in the custody of your Physicians or Allied Professionals or how your medical information is used or disclosed in their private offices.
For the purposes of complying with the Texas Medical Privacy Act, Tex Health & Safety Code, § 181 and other applicable Texas laws, the following Memorial Hermann entities are also subject to the practices described in this Joint Notice.