information about you to people outside UAB Health System who may be involved in your medical care after you leave , such as your local physician , family members , clergy , or others we use to provide services that are part of your care . We may use and disclose your medical information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you .
‣ For Alabama One Health Record System . We participate in the State of Alabama ’ s Health Information Exchange , known as One Health Record , that allows us to exchange electronic health information with hospitals , physicians , and other network participants who share in the System in the event we need to see or receive the information to treat you . Our participation in the System helps improve the quality of care you receive . You may choose not to have your electronic health information included in the System by submitting a written request on the required form to the Entity Privacy Coordinator .
‣ For Payment . We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive through UAB Health System may be billed to and payment may be collected from you , an insurance company , or a third party . For example , we may need to give your health plan information about surgery you received at UAB Health System so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery . 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 .
‣ For Routine Health Care Operations . We may use and disclose medical information about you for UAB Health System routine operations . These uses and disclosures are necessary to run UAB Health System and 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 in caring for you . We may also combine medical information about many UAB Health System patients to decide what additional services UAB Health System should offer , what services are not needed , and whether certain new treatments are effective . We may also disclose information to doctors , nurses , technicians , medical residents and students , and UAB Health System personnel for review and learning purposes . We may also combine the medical information we have with medical information from other entities to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer . We may remove information that identifies you from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are .
‣ Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care . We may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care . We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care . We may also tell your family or friends your condition and that you are in the hospital . In addition , we may disclose medical information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your condition , status , and location .
‣ Appointment Reminders and Health-Related Benefits and Services . We may use and disclose medical information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care at UAB Health System . We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you .
‣ Research . Under certain circumstances , we may use and disclose medical information about you to researchers when their clinical research study has been approved by UAB ’ s or the facility ’ s Institutional Review Board . While most clinical research studies require specific patient consent , there are some instances where patient authorization is not required . For example , a research project may involve comparing the health and recovery of all patients who received one medication to those who received another , for the same condition . This would be done through a retrospective record review with no patient contact . The Institutional Review Board reviews the research proposal to make certain that the proposal has established protocols to protect the privacy of your health information .
‣ Fundraising Activities . We may use medical information about you to contact you in an effort to raise money for UAB Health System . We may disclose medical information to a foundation related to UAB Health System so that the foundation may contact you in raising money for UAB Health System . For example , we may use or disclose the following information to contact you for fundraising purposes : your name , address and phone number , the physicians who furnished the services , and the location and dates you received treatment or services at UAB Health System . If you do not want UAB Health System to
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