Alameda Health System takes pride in serving you and in delivering quality care. Your comments will help us to improve the care we provide and we would like to resolve any concern you might have as soon as possible.  If you have any concerns about your stay or the quality of care while you are at the hospital, please ask to speak with the department or supervisor of the area before contacting Risk Management. This way we hope to resolve the concern while you are still in the hospital.

If you or your family members are unhappy with the outcome or resolution provided by management, the Risk Management Office assist with attempting to resolve your concerns or with filing a grievance to be investigated by our Patient Safety Department at (510) 437-8484. Alameda Health System is committed to ensuring that all concerns are addressed in a respectful and courteous manner, and we welcome all feedback.

1. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OR DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH INFORMATION  (Adobe PDF)
2. AUTORIZACIÓN PARA UTILIZAR O DIVULGAR INFORMACIÓN MÉDICA (Adobe PDF)

Alameda County is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the United States, and AHS offers access to over 300 languages (including American Sign Language) through in-house and vendor medical interpreters.

Dial 510-437-4491 using any phone and follow the prompts to reach an interpreter at any time:

• Press 2 if you are a patient or family member
• Press

1 for Spanish
2 for Cantonese or Mandarin
3 for Mien, Lao or Thai
4 for Tigrinya
5 for Mam
6 for Vietnamese
7 for Cambodian or Khmer
0 for all other languages or to schedule an interpreter or request assistance

The Interpreter Services department can also be reached by email: InterpreterDispatchDesk@alamedahealthsystem.org

AHS works with area faith leaders, including pastors, rabbis, and imams, to provide spiritual counseling and bereavement support to patients, their families, and employees. Local faith leaders and congregations offer visitation and consultation services and assist with funerals and memorial services regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof.

The spiritual care department also is available to help with many other challenging life issues, including relationship conflicts, separation and divorce, parent and child issues, abuse, and disabilities. Spiritual care providers offer confidential discussions and will visit employees and family members where care is needed outside of the hospital, including nursing homes, family homes, and funeral homes.

Spiritual care leaders will respond by phone within thirty minutes. Their services are voluntary, confidential, and neutral from AHS operations.

Spiritual care services can be contacted through AHS operators at (510) 437-4800.

For all locations click here.

• AHS Notice of Privacy Practices  (English PDF)
• AHS Notice of Privacy Practices (Spanish PDF)
• AHS Notice of Privacy Practices (Chinese PDF)

Office of Compliance/Privacy

1411 East 31st Street
Oakland, CA 94602
510-535-7788 (Toll Free)

Understanding Your Health Record Information

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record

• You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
• We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your medical record

• You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
• We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications

• You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
• We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

• You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
• If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

• You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
• We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost- based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

Get a copy of this privacy notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.

Choose someone to act for you

• If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
• We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

For More Information or to file a complaint if you feel your privacy rights are violated

• If you have questions and would like additional information, you may contact the Medical Records Department at 510-437-4466.
• You can complain if you feel we have violated your privacy rights by contacting us using the information on page one in the downloadable PDF above.
• You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

• In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
• Share information in a disaster relief situation
• Include your information in a hospital directory

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your health information?

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.

Treat you
We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.

Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.

Run our organization
We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.

Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services. We use your health information to support necessary business, financial and clinical functions. Examples of these functions may include: auditing our clinical procedures, analyzing our cost of care, arranging for patient satisfaction surveys, fundraising and determining the need for new health care services

Bill for your services
We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.

Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes.

For more information see:
www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

• Preventing disease
• Reporting births and deaths
• Helping with product recalls
• Reporting adverse reactions to medications
• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
• Notifying emergency response employees regarding possible exposure to HIV/AIDS, to the extent necessary to comply with state and federal laws.

Do research
We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.

Comply with the law
We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

Health Information Exchange (HIE)
We may make your protected health information available electronically through one or more state, regional, or national information exchange services to other healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses that request your information for treatment or payment for that treatment. Participation in health information exchange services also means that we may see information about you from other providers.

Your participation in a HIE is voluntary and subject to your right to opt-out. Where possible, you may be provided with educational information prior to the enrollment of the participating organization. More information on our HIE can be found at our website: http://www.MyAlamedaHealth.org.

Respond to organ and tissue donation requests

We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.

Appointment Reminders
We may contact you to provide appointment reminders.

Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests

We can use or share health information about you:

• For workers’ compensation claims
• For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official as required by law.
• With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
• For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services

Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

Business Associates

There are some services provided in our organization through contracts with business associates. Examples include transcribing your medical record, surveying for patient satisfaction, and a copy service we use when making copies of your health record. When services are provided by contracted business associates, we may disclose the appropriate portions of your health information to them so they can perform the job we have asked them to do. However, our business associates are also required by law to safeguard your information.

Our Responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the Terms of this Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request in our facilities and on our web site.

Effective Date of this Notice: October 3, 2014

Non-Discrimination Policy

As a recipient of Federal financial assistance, Alameda Health System does not exclude, deny benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity in admission to, participation in, or receipt of the services and benefits under any of its programs and activities, whether carried out by Alameda Health System directly or through a contractor or any other entity with which Alameda Health System arranges to carry out its programs and activities.

This statement is in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Regulations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued pursuant to these statutes at Title 45 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 80, 84, and 91.

Alameda Health System:

• Provides free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with us, such as:
• Qualified sign language interpreters
• Written information in other formats (large print, audio, accessible electronic formats, other formats)
• Provides free language services to people whose primary language is not English, such as:
  • Qualified interpreters
  • Information written in other languages

If you need these services, contact Interpreter Services at 510-437-4491.

If you believe that Alameda Health System has failed to provide these services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity, you can file a grievance with:

AHS Risk Management Department
7677 Oakport Street, 12th Floor
Oakland, CA 94621
510-437-8484 (phone)
510-535-7675 (fax)
riskmanagement@alamedahealthsystem.org

You can file a grievance by phone, mail, fax, or email. If you need help filing a grievance, Risk Management teamis 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.

For AHS Crisis Standard of Care Policy, click here.
Please Note: We are in-process of updating this policy and a new version will be posted on February 11, 2021.