Dedicated to Our Patients
We empower patients and are dedicated to helping restore active lifestyles.
Note: Dr. Nessler is a Physician with St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates.
During your treatment at St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd., doctors, nurses, and other caregivers may gather information about your medical history and your current health. This notice explains how that information may be used and shared with others. It also explains your privacy rights regarding this kind of information. The terms of this notice apply to health information created or received by St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. We are required by law to: make sure that medical information that identifies you is kept private; give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to medical information about you; and follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
Treatment: We may use your information to provide, coordinate, and manage your care and treatment. For example, a St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. physician may share your medical information with another physician for a consultation or a referral. We will get your written consent prior to making disclosures outside St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. for treatment purposes, except in emergency circumstances when it is not possible to get your consent.
Payment: We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive may be billed to, and payment may be collected from, you, an insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about treatment you received at St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the treatment. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment. We will get your written consent prior to making disclosures for payment purposes.
Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose medical information about you for St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd.'s health care operations. Health care operations are the uses and disclosures of information that are necessary to run St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. and to make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services, and to evaluate the performance of our staff and physicians in caring for you. We will get your written consent before making disclosures to others outside St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. for health care operations purposes.
Appointment Reminders and Other Health Information: We may use your medical information to send you reminders about future appointments. We may also contact you with information about new or alternative treatments or other health care services.
Fund-Raising: Occasionally, St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. may use limited information (your name, address, and the dates you were seen for medical services) to let you know about fund-raising or other charitable events.
To People Assisting in Your Care: St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. will only disclose medical information to those taking care of you, helping you to pay your bills, or other close family members or friends if these people need to know this information to help you, and then only to the extent permitted by law. We may, for example, provide limited medical information to allow a family member to pick up a prescription for you. Generally, we will get your written consent prior to making disclosures about you to family or friends. If you are able to make your own health care decisions, St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. will ask your permission before using your medical information for these purposes. If you are unable to make health care decisions, St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. will disclose relevant medical information to family members or other responsible people if we feel it is in your best interest to do so, including in an emergency situation.
Research: Federal law permits St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. to use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes, either with your specific, written authorization or when the study has been reviewed for privacy protection by an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board before the research begins. In some cases, researchers may be permitted to use information in a limited way to determine whether the study or the potential participants are appropriate. Minnesota law generally requires that we get your general consent before we disclose your health information to an outside researcher. We will make a good faith effort to obtain your consent or refusal to participate in any research study, as required by law, prior to releasing any identifiable information about you to outside researchers.
As Required by Law: We will disclose medical information about you when we are required to do so by federal, state or local law.
To Avert Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure must be only to someone able to help prevent the threat. In addition, Minnesota law generally does not permit these disclosures unless we have your written consent to do so or when the disclosure is specifically required by law, including the limited circumstances in which St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. health care professionals have a "duty to warn."
To Business Associates: Some services are provided by or to St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. through contracts with business associates. Examples include St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd.'s, attorneys, consultants, collection agencies, and accreditation organizations. We may disclose information about you to our business associate so that they can perform the job we have contracted with them to do. To protect the information that is disclosed, each business associate is required to sign an agreement to appropriately safeguard the information and not to redisclose the information unless specifically permitted by law.
Your medical information may be released in the following special situations:
Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and receive a copy of your medical information that is used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records maintained by St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd.
If you wish to inspect and copy medical information, you must submit your request in writing to the Medical Records Supervisor. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies associated with your request, to the extent permitted by state and federal law.
We may deny your request to inspect and copy your information in certain very limited circumstances. For example, we may deny access if your physician believes it will be harmful to your health, or could cause a threat to others. In these cases, we may supply the information to a third party who may release the information to you. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.
Right to Request Amendment: If you believe that medical information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to change the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd.
To request a change to your information, your request must be made in writing and submitted to the Medical Records Supervisor. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request.
St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates, Ltd. may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." This is a list of the disclosures we made of medical information about you. This list will not include disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations; disclosures that you have authorized or that have been made to you; disclosures for national security or intelligence purposes; disclosures to correctional institutions or law enforcement with custody of you; disclosures that took place before April 14, 2003; and certain other disclosures.
To request this list of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to the Medical Records Supervisor. Your request must state a time period for which you would like the accounting. The accounting period may not go back further than six years from the date of the request, and it may not include dates before April 14, 2003. You may receive one free accounting in any 12-month period. We will charge you for additional requests.
Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you. For example, you could ask that we not use or disclose information about treatment that you received to other physicians or to your insurance company. We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment.
To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to the Medical Records Supervisor. In your request, you must tell us (1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure, or both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example, if you want to prohibit disclosures to your spouse.
Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we contact you only at work or only by mail.
To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to the Appointment Scheduling Supervisor. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted, and we may require you to provide information about how payment will be handled.
Right to a Paper Coy of this Notice: You have the right to receive a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice any time. This notice is on our website, www.stcloudorthopedics.com.
1901 Connecticut Ave. South Sartell, MN 56377 Phone: (320) 259-4100 Appointment Desk: (320) 202-5509
