Policies, Disclaimers & Usage Agreements

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (SRHS) strives to meet modern accessibility standards as defined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, an initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium. These A and AA conformance level standards include but are not limited to: 

• Providing text alternatives to visual content
• Adding captions to videos
• Ensuring the site is navigable by keyboard
• Reducing content which flashes or moves

While we work to stay current with accessibility guidelines, there are always ways to improve and we value all feedback from patients and visitors about how we offer information on the web. If you face difficulty using our website(s) due to accessibility issues, please let us know at [email protected]. 

Contact our integrity hotline.

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. 

If you have any questions about this Notice of Privacy Practices, please ask a member of the staff where you receive healthcare services. You may also contact our Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity at 864-560-6321. 

Spartanburg Regional Health Services District, Inc. (SRHS) is Committed to Your Privacy 

At SRHS, we keep medical information about you to help us provide your care and to meet legal requirements. We also understand that your medical information is private. 

The law requires us to: 

• Protect your medical information 
• Give you this notice 
• Follow the terms of the notice 
• Notify you following a breach of unsecured medical information 

Definition of Terms 

In this document we will use words that will have the following meaning: 

• “Notice” is used to refer to this Notice of Privacy Practices. 
• “SRHS” means Spartanburg Regional Health Services District, Inc. 
• “We,” “our,” or “us,” means one or more of the SRHS organizations and their individual licensed providers and staff. 
• “You” means the patient who is the subject of the medical information. 
• “Medical information” includes all paper and electronic records of your care that identify you and relate to your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition, including information about payment and billing for your healthcare services. 
• “Use” means sharing or using your medical information within SRHS. 
• “Share” or “disclose” means to release, give access to or provide your medical information to someone outside SRHS. 

How We May Use and Share Information About You 

SRHS and its medical staff; employed healthcare professionals including physicians, nurses, care partners, other employees; trainees and students; volunteers; and business associates follow the terms of this notice. SRHS uses electronic record systems to more efficiently and safely coordinate your care across many individuals and locations. Physical and technical safeguards are used to protect the information in these systems. SRHS also uses policies and training to restrict use of your information to only those who need it to do their job. 

Doctors and other people who are not employed by SRHS may share information about you with SRHS employees in order to provide your health care. These non-SRHS caregivers may also give you their notices that describe their privacy practices for information they maintain outside of SRHS. 

All of these hospitals, clinics, doctors, and other caregivers, programs and services may share your medical information with each other for treatment, payment and healthcare operations purposes. The general ways that we can use and share your information are described below. While we cannot list every specific use, we have given examples under each general category. 

Treatment: We may use and share your medical information to provide you with healthcare services. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg will need to know if you have diabetes, because diabetes may slow the healing process. The doctor may need to tell someone who works in food services that you have diabetes, so we can prepare the right meals for you. We may also share medical information about you in order to provide you with items and services such as medicine, lab tests and X-rays, and to make arrangements for transportation, home care, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, medical devices or equipment experts, or with community agencies and family members. This medical information may be shared when needed in order to plan for your care after you leave SRHS. 

Payment: We may use and share your information so that SRHS or other healthcare providers that have provided services to you, such as an ambulance company, may bill and collect payment for those services. For example, we may share your medical information with your health plan, so your health plan will pay for care you received at SRHS, or to obtain prior approval for a procedure, or to allow your health plan to review your records to make sure they have paid the correct amount to SRHS. We may also share your information with a collection agency when needed in order to collect an overdue payment. If you wish to make this request, please contact the Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity by sending a written letter to the location below. 

Healthcare Operations: We may use and share information about you for business tasks necessary to operate SRHS. Whenever practical we may remove information that identifies you. For example, we may use or share your medical information: 

• To comply with laws and regulations 
• For healthcare training and education 
• To perform credentialing, licensure, certification and accreditation functions 
• To improve our care and service 
• For our budgeting and planning 
• For legal services and compliance programs 
• To conduct audits 
• To maintain computer systems 
• To evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you 
• To make decisions about additional services SRHS should offer 
• To do patient satisfaction surveys 
• To bill and collect payment 

When information is shared with outside parties (called “business associates”) who perform these tasks on behalf of SRHS, the business associates are also required to protect and restrict use of your medical information. 

Contacting You about Appointments, Insurance and Other Matters: We may contact you by mail, phone, or email about appointments, registration questions, insurance updates, billing or payment matters, test results, to follow up about care received, or to ask about the quality of the services we have provided to you. We may leave voice messages at the telephone number you give to us. 

Treatment Alternatives or Health News and Services: We may use or share your information to inform you about treatment options or health-related products or services that may interest you. 

Fundraising Activities: We may use your name, address, phone number, age, gender, date of birth, health insurance status, and the dates you received services at SRHS to contact you in an effort to raise money to support SRHS. If you do not want us to contact you for fundraising efforts, you must notify us. 

Hospital Directory: If you do not object, while you are a patient in the hospital, we may include certain limited information about you in the hospital patient directory. This information may include your name, location in the hospital, general condition, such as “fair” or “stable,” and your religion. This helps your family, friends and clergy visit you and learn your general condition. This general information, except your religion, may be released to visitors or phone callers who ask for you by name. Unless you tell us not to, your stated religion may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don’t ask for you by name. If you prefer not to be in the hospital patient directory, please contact the Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity at 864-560-6321 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., or Patient Access Services during all other hours. 

Family Members and Friends Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care: We may share information about you with family members and friends who are involved in your care or payment for your care. Whenever possible, we will allow you to tell us who you would like to be involved in your care. However, in emergencies or other situations in which you are unable to tell us who to share information with, we will use our best judgment and share only information that others need to know. We may also share information about you with a public or private agency during a disaster, so the agency can help contact your family or friends about your location and tell them how you are doing. 

Research: We may use and disclose medical information about you for the research we conduct in order to improve public health and develop new knowledge. For example, a research project may compare the health and recovery of patients who received one medicine for an illness to those who received a different medicine for the same illness. We use and share your information for research only as allowed by federal and state rules. Each research project is approved through a special process that balances the research needs with the patient’s need for privacy. In most cases, if the research involves your care or the sharing of your medical information, we will first explain to you how your information will be used and ask for your consent to use the information. We may access your medical information before the approval process to design the research project and provide the information needed for approval. Health information used to prepare a research project, does not leave SRHS. 

To Stop a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may share your medical information when necessary to prevent a serious and urgent threat to the health and safety of you or someone else. For example, threats of harming another person may be reported to the police or other proper authorities. 

Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation: We share medical information about organ, eye or tissue donors and about the patients who need those organs, eyes or tissues with others involved in obtaining, storing and transplanting organs, eyes and tissues. 

Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may share your medical information with the military as authorized or required by law. We may also release information about foreign military personnel to the proper foreign military authority. 

Workers’ Compensation: We may share medical information about you with those who need it in order to provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness. 

Health Oversight Activities and Public Health Reporting: We may share information with health oversight agencies for activities like audits, investigations, inspections and review of requirements to obtain a license. We may also share your medical information to file reports with state public health authorities, agencies such as cancer registries, and the federal Food and Drug Administration. 

Some examples of the reasons for these reports are: 

• To prevent or control disease and injuries. 
• To report events such as births and deaths. 
• To report child abuse or neglect of children, elders and dependent adults. 
• To report reactions to medications or problems with products. 
• To notify people of recalls of products they may be using. 
• To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may spread a disease. 
• To notify the appropriate authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. 

Lawsuits and Disputes: We may share your medical information as directed by a court order, subpoena, discovery request, warrant, summons, or other lawful instructions from a court or public body when needed for a legal or administrative proceeding. 

Law Enforcement: We may release your medical information to a law enforcement official, as authorized or required by law: 

• In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process. 
• To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person. 
• If you are suspected to be a victim of a crime, generally with your permission. 
• About a death we believe may be the result of a crime. 
• About criminal conduct at the hospital. 
• In an emergency, to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime. 

We May Share Your Information

With: 

• Coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors, so they can carry out their duties. 
• Federal officials for national security and intelligence activities. 
• Federal officials who provide protective services for the president and others such as foreign heads of state, or to conduct special investigations. 
• A correctional institution if you are an inmate. 
• A law enforcement official if you are under their custody. 

Other Uses of Your Medical Information 

We will not use or share your medical information for reasons other than those described above without your written consent. Specifically, we would need your authorization for most uses of sharing of: 

• Your psychotherapy notes (if applicable) 
• Your medical information for marketing purposes 
• A sale of your medical information 

For example, you may want us to give medical information to your employer or to your child’s school. We will not share your medical information for purposes like this unless you give your written approval or if the law requires it. You may revoke the approval, in writing, at any time, but we cannot take back any medical information that has already been shared with your approval. 

Your Rights Regarding Your Medical Information 

The records we create and maintain using your medical information belong to SRHS, but you have the following rights: 

Right to Ask for Limits on the Use and Sharing of Your Medical Information: You have the right to ask that we limit our use or sharing of information about you for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. You also have the right to ask us to limit the medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not share information about a surgery you had. We reserve the right to accept or reject your request. Generally, we will not accept restrictions for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. However, we may restrict disclosure of your medical information to a health plan if the information relates solely to the healthcare service that you or a person on your behalf, and not the health plan, has paid us in full. We will notify you if we do not agree to your request. If we do agree, our agreement must be in writing, and we will comply with the restriction unless the information is needed to provide emergency treatment for you. We are allowed to end the restriction if we tell you. If we end the restriction, it will only affect medical information that was created or received after we notify you. 

You must submit your request to restrict the use and sharing of your medical information in writing to the Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity at the address listed at the end of this notice. 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. 

Right to Ask for Confidential Communications: You have the right to ask us to communicate with you in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we contact you only at work or at a post office box. You must make your request in writing to the Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity at the address given at the end of this notice. You do not need to tell us the reason for your request. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. You will also be required to tell us what address to send bills for payment. We will accept all reasonable requests. However, if we are unable to contact you using the requested ways or locations, we may contact you using any information we have. 

Right to Review and Get a Copy of Your Medical Information: You have the right to look at and get a copy of your medical information, including billing records. You must first make your request in writing to Health Information Management at the address provided at the end of this notice. If you would like us to send a copy of your medical information to another person, you must send us a signed, written request and clearly specify the person and address that you wish to send the copy. We may charge a fee to cover copying, mailing, and other costs and supplies used to respond to your request. We may deny your request for certain information in very limited cases. If we deny your request, we will give you the reason for the denial in writing. In some cases, you may request that the denial be reviewed by a licensed healthcare professional chosen by SRHS. Please note that once your medical information is given to you, SRHS is not liable for any information that is spread or distributed outside of our control and through no fault of SRHS. 

Right to Ask for a Change of Your Medical Information: If you think our information about you is not correct or not complete, you may ask us to correct the record by writing to Health Information Management at the address listed at the end of this notice. Your written request must give the reason you ask for a correction. We have 60 days to respond to your request. If we accept your request, we will tell you we agree and add the correction. We cannot take anything out of the record. We can add new information to complete or correct the existing information. With your help, we will notify others who have the incorrect or incomplete medical information. If we deny your request, we will tell you in writing the reasons. If we deny your request, you have the right to submit a written statement of 250 words or less that tells what you believe is not correct or is missing. We will add your written statement to your records and include it whenever we share the part of your medical record that your written statement relates to. 

Right to Ask for an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request a list of when your medical information was shared without your written consent. 

This list will not include uses or disclosures: 

• To carry out treatment, payment or healthcare operations. 
• To you or your personal representative. 
• To those who request your information as listed in hospital directories. 
• To your family members or friends who are involved in your care. 
• As required or permitted by law as described above. 
• As part of a limited data set with direct identifiers removed. 
• Released before April 14, 2003. 

Any request for this list must be made in writing to the Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity at the address listed at the end of this notice. Your request must state the time period for which you want the list. The time period may not be longer than six years and may not begin before April 14, 2003. The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. We will charge you a fee for additional requests in that same period. 

Right to Get a Paper Copy of This Notice: You have the right to get a paper copy of this notice, even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically. You may get a copy at any of our facilities, by contacting the Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity at the number below or at the SRHS website, SpartanburgRegional.com. 

Changes to This Notice 

We have the right to change this notice at any time. Any change could apply to medical information we already have about you, as well as any information we receive in the future. The effective date of this notice is on the first page. We will post a copy of the current notice throughout SRHS and on the SRHS website, http://www.spartanburgregional.com. 

How to Ask a Question or Report a Complaint 

If you have questions about this notice or want to talk about a problem without filing a formal complaint, please contact the Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity at 864-560-6321. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a written complaint with us. Please send it to the Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity at the address listed below. You may also file a complaint with Guest Services or the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services at the addresses listed below. 

You will not be treated differently for filing a complaint. 

How to Contact Us 

Privacy Office of Corporate Integrity 

Spartanburg Regional Health Services District, Inc.  
Attention: Corporate Integrity : Privacy Officer  
101 East Wood Street Spartanburg, SC 29303  
[email protected] 
864-560-6321 

Health Information Management 

Guest Services 

Office for Civil Rights Region IV 

DHHS 
Roosevelt Freeman, Regional Manager Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
S.W. Atlanta, GA 30303-8909 
Voice Phone 404-562-7886 
FAX 404-562-7881  
TDD 404-331-2867 

Effective date 9/20/2013 

As a patient in our hospital, you have many rights that we are committed to protecting and promoting. Whenever possible, we will inform you of your rights before beginning or discontinuing care. 

Patient Rights 

• You have the right to be free from all forms of abuse (physical or mental), neglect, or harassment. 
• You have the right to expect a safe environment for your care and treatment while a patient in the hospital. 
• You have the right to quality health care, regardless of race, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disabilities, national origin, or ability to pay. 
• You have the right to clear communication that provides information in a manner you can understand. The hospital will provide foreign language and sign language interpreters at no charge. To ensure your care needs are met, additional communication techniques or aids may be used if you have vision, speech, hearing, and/or other impairments. 
• You and/or your family, with your permission, have the right to participate in decisions regarding your inpatient or outpatient plan of care and treatment, discharge planning, pain management; to request and/or refuse treatment(s), and information about your health status. This right, however, is not to be construed as a demand for the provision of treatment or services deemed medically unnecessary or inappropriate by the doctor. 
• You have the right to have a family member (or person of your choice) and your physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital. 
• You have the right to appropriate assessment and management of pain during your hospitalization. 
• You have the right to make decisions regarding your medical care and formulate an advance directive (such as a living will or durable power of attorney for healthcare). You can expect hospital staff to implement and comply with your advance directive in accordance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. 
• You can expect that all communication and records about your care are confidential, unless disclosure is permitted by law. 
• If you are a Medicare inpatient you have the right to appeal a discharge you feel is too soon. 
• You can expect to be provided with privacy during personal hygiene or clinical care/treatments, visits from your physician or staff wishing to discuss clinical care issues or perform an examination, and upon your request, as appropriate. 
• You have the right to access your medical records, request amendments to the record, and to obtain information about disclosures of your health information in accordance with laws and regulations. 
• You or your representative, where appropriate, have the right to choose who your family members are, including, but not limited to, a spouse, domestic partner, same-sex partner, other family members, or friends who that patient considers to be family. Visitation from family or other guests will not be denied on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or disability. Patient and family have a responsibility to comply with any visitation restrictions communicated by the healthcare team. 
• You have the right to be free from restraints or seclusion, of any form, that are not medically necessary. You can expect to be treated with respect and dignity. 
• You or your representative, where appropriate, have the right to be given (in a way you can understand) the names of those who will perform and assist with planned surgical interventions, and the information, risks, benefits, and alternatives, needed in order to make an informed consent for a procedure or treatment. 
• By S.C. law, the hospital is required to notify the authorized representative of the right to have an autopsy performed, at the expense of the requester. 
• You have the right to know the identity and professional status of those involved in your care, including if a caregiver is a student or trainee, or is professionally associated with other individuals or healthcare institutions involved in your care. 
• You have the right to request your nurse to call your attending physician or designee or assist you in calling your attending physician or designee with any urgent personal medical care concern. 
• You have the right to be involved in your discharge planning and to be told of your discharge, transfer to another facility, or transfer to another level of care, in a timely manner. 
• You have the right to exercise and express your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal beliefs and to expect that the care you receive will include consideration of your beliefs. Chaplains are available to you – speak with any staff member to make a request. 
• You have the right to know if this hospital has relationships with outside parties, other healthcare providers, or educational institutions that may influence your care. 
• You have the right to examine and receive an explanation of your bill, regardless of your source of payment. 
• You have the right to consent or decline participation in research, investigation, or clinical trials without jeopardizing your access to care and services. 
• You have the right to give or withhold consent to recordings, filming, or obtaining images of you for any purpose other than your care. 
• You and/or your family may access the Ethics Committee to discuss an ethical issue related to your care. Please ask the physician, nurse, or nurse leader for assistance. 
• You have the right to be informed about your rights as a patient, how to receive help for a problem or file a complaint, as well as information about hospital rules. If you have a problem or complaint, please speak with your doctor, nurse, or nurse leader. 
• Lodging a complaint with any entity will in no way compromise your medical care or result in any other retaliation. 

Patient Responsibilities 

As our patient, you are expected to comply with hospital rules and regulations and be an active participant in your care. You also are expected to: 

• Cooperate with the hospital staff and provide necessary personal and medical history required for your treatment. 
• Ask for simpler explanations if you do not understand your illness or treatment. 
• Tell your physician whether or not you are willing and able to follow the treatment plan recommended for you. 
• Be courteous and respectful to all hospital staff, other patients, and visitors; follow all hospital rules and safety regulations; and be mindful of noise levels, privacy, and number of visitors. 
• Ask questions and actively participate in your continued care after you leave the hospital, knowing when and where to get further treatment. 
• Be responsible for keeping follow-up appointments. 
• Be timely about paying your hospital bill, to provide information necessary to process insurance, and to ask questions if you do not understand the bill. 

To register a complaint, please contact:  

Spartanburg Medical Center Guest Services: 864-560-6600 
Pelham Medical Center Guest Services: 864-530-2273 
Union Medical Center Guest Services: 864-301-2390 
Cherokee Medical Center: 864-487-1500  

If your concern is not resolved to your liking, you may also contact:  

• DNV provides five channels for submitting a hospital complaint:
  • Website: https://www.dnvhealthcareportal.com/patient-complaint-report
  • Email:     [email protected]
  • Phone:   866-496-9647
  • Fax:        281-870-4818
  • Mail:       DNV Healthcare USA Inc.
                   Attn: Hospital Complaints
                   4435 Aicholtz Road, Suite 900
                   Cincinnati, OH 45245
• DHHS - Office for Civil Rights: 800-368-1019 
• Division of Licensing DHEC: 803-545-4370 
• Medicare: 800-633-4227  

Letters should be sent to: 

Spartanburg Medical Center Guest Services 
101 East Wood Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303  

Pelham Medical Center Guest Services 
250 Westmoreland Road, Greer, SC 29651  

Union Medical Center Guest Services 
322 West South Street, Union, SC 29379  

Cherokee Medical Center 
1530 N. Limestone Street, Gaffney, SC 29340  

DNV - Healthcare Attn: Complaints 
400 Techne Center Drive, Suite 100 Milford, OH 45150 

DHHS - Office for Civil Rights 
200 Independence Ave. S.W., Suite 515F, HHH Building, Washington, D. C. 20201 

When you sign up for text messages from Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (SRHS), you are signing up to receive SMS text messages related to your relationship with SRHS, including all SRHS facilities and hospitals, and all Medical Group of the Carolinas locations and affiliated providers. SRHS text messages may include updates related to your medical visits, your MyChart account, MyChart one-time passcode requests, billing notifications, prescription reminders and care management notifications.

You can opt-out of text messages from SRHS by texting STOP to the shortcode (a five-digit phone number) you received the text message from. Your STOP request will generate one final message confirming that you have been unsubscribed from future text messages from that shortcode. After this step, you will no longer receive SMS messages from the shortcode you opted-out from. If you want to join again and receive future text messages from SRHS, you can sign up by texting SRHS to the shortcode or by using your SRHS MyChart account.  

If you are experiencing issues with the SRHS text messaging program, you can reply to a text message with HELP for more assistance, or you can get help directly at 1-888-842-4278 or [email protected].  

Cell phone carriers and providers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

Message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to and from SRHS. Text message frequency may vary.

Our Privacy Policy is located at Go.SRHS.com/terms. Contact us at 1-888-842-4278 or [email protected].