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.
Drug Direct is required by law to maintain the privacy of your Protected Health Information (“PHI”). PHI consists of individually identifiable health information, which may include demographic information we collect from you or create or receive by another health care provider, a health plan, your employer, or a health care clearinghouse, and that relates to: (1) your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; (2) the provision of health care to you; or (3) the past, present or future payment for the provision of health care to you.
Drug Direct is also required by law to provide its Pharmacy Customers with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to Protected Health Information and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured Protected Health Information. You, the “Pharmacy Customer” of Drug Direct, have the right to know how we use, disclose and handle your health information and this document provides you with this important information. This document also outlines the rights you have regarding your health information. Drug Direct is required to abide by the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices that is currently in effect.
Drug Direct reserves the right to change the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices and to make the new provisions effective for all Protected Health Information it maintains, including health information we created or obtained prior to any change(s). Drug Direct will post a most recent version of this document on its website and will provide a copy for your reference, upon request.
Using & Disclosing Your Health Information
Treatment & Care: We may use or disclose your health information for your treatment, care and benefit. For example, we are often required to communicate with health care providers such as physicians, psychologists, therapists, counselors, and other health care providers who provide services to our Pharmacy Customers, with whom we will share Protected Health Information as necessary to carry out treatment.
Payment: We may accept payment from certain government or private third-party payors. We may use or disclose your health information as necessary as it relates to payment for prescription services provided by Drug Direct.
Health Care Operations: We may use your health information to carry out certain health care-related business functions, such as for compliance, quality assessment and improvement activities; or general administrative, legal and practice management activities. For example, we may use or disclose your health information to auditors, consultants, or attorneys in the course of reviewing your treatment for the purpose of determining quality of care. We may also provide information about you to third party Business Associates, pursuant to a Business Associate contract, so they may perform some of our business operations. If we use or disclose your health information for health care operations, we will only do so as minimally necessary.
Marketing: Drug Direct may make a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service, which would fall within the definition of marketing. Before we use or disclose your health information to carry out marketing purposes, we must obtain your written authorization to do so.
Sale of Protected Health Information: A disclosure of your health information in which Drug Direct receives remuneration from or on behalf of the recipient of the information, beyond a reasonable, cost-based fee to cover the cost to prepare and transmit the information, constitutes the sale of your health information. Before we sell your health information, we must obtain your written authorization to do so.
Family Members and/or Other Loved Ones: Unless you object to our doing so, we may use or disclose your health information to advise your family members or any loved ones, in very basic terms, about your status and condition. If you wish for us to more openly communicate with your family members and loved ones, we require your special written authorization for us to do so.
Refill Reminders: We may use or disclose your health information to contact you to provide refill reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
Government & Societal Priorities: In some cases, the law may require us to use or disclose your health information without our obtaining your prior approval or consent. In such instances, Drug Direct will use or disclose your health information only to the extent that such use or disclosure is required by law and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law. Drug Direct may be required by law to use or disclose your health information to:
- Avert the spread of communicable diseases;
- Assist public health initiatives to control or prevent disease, injury, or disability;
- Report abuse, neglect or domestic violence in accordance with applicable State law;
- Assist in the regulation of products subject to the control of the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”);
- Undertake occupational safety and health efforts in accordance with federal and State occupational safety and health statutes and regulations;
- Facilitate health oversight, as in the case of authorized governmental civil audits; civil, administrative or criminal investigations; inspections; licenses; disciplinary actions; and civil, administrative and criminal proceedings;
- Comply with the orders issued in connection with judicial or administrative proceedings;
- Assist law enforcement (as in cases of crimes on the premises; for the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, witness, or missing person; in response to a request for information regarding Pharmacy Customers who are victims of crime; compliance with legal process; emergency circumstances; etc.);
-
Assist employers in their evaluation relating to medical surveillance of the workplace or the extent of work-related illnesses or injury;
- Assist research purposes, only if a number of legal prerequisites are met;
- Comply with laws relating to worker’s compensation or other similar programs;
- Facilitate the responsibilities of coroners and funeral directors, or to assist in effecting organ or tissue donation procedures;
- Avert serious threats to health and safety or a person or the public; and
- Promote special governmental purposes (including national security; military and veteran’s activities; correctional institution/ custodial situations; etc.).
However, for any of these above instances, we will not use or disclose your health information unless all applicable legal requirements are met.
Other Uses & Disclosures: For any other purposes not otherwise addressed above, we will not disclose your health information to someone else unless you provide us special written authorization to do so. If you give such written authorization, you may revoke it at any time, provided that the revocation is in writing, and except to the extent Drug Direct has taken action in reliance on the authorization.
Notice Regarding Electronic Communication: Drug Direct reserves the right to communicate with you via electronic mail (email) to the extent Drug Direct deems necessary, appropriate, and/or in furtherance of providing treatment and services, unless you or your duly-authorized Personal Representative instructs otherwise in writing to Drug Direct’s Privacy Officer.
Your Health Information Rights
You have many rights regarding your health information. They include your rights to:
- Receive a copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices. If you have agreed to receive this Notice of Privacy Practices electronically, you have the right to obtain a paper copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices from Drug Direct upon request.
- Inspect and copy your Protected Health Information, including receiving an electronic copy of your health information
- Request that we amend your health information should you believe it to be incorrect or misleading.
- Request that we account for how we used or disclosed your health information.
- Request additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your health information, beyond those set forth in this document. Drug Direct is not required to agree to a requested restriction, except in the case of a restriction related to a disclosure of your health information to a health plan if the disclosure is for payment or health care operations and pertains to an item or service for which the Pharmacy Customer has paid Drug Direct in full.
- Request that we make special arrangements on how we confidentially communicate with you.
- Raise any questions, concerns or issues, including making complaints, on how we use, disclose or otherwise handle your health information.
For any above requests you may make, we shall apply governing law to review them and before we may deny any such requests. As permitted by law, we may charge certain reasonable cost-based fees for any health information access or accounting requests made.
Contact Information
You have the right to complain to Drug Direct and/or the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services if your belief your privacy rights have been violated. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint. For any questions, concerns, issues or complaints you may have about your health information, you may contact the Privacy Officer or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights, as follows:
Privacy Officer
PerfectionRX
3248 Lantana Road
Lake Worth, FL 33462
Phone: 1-888-724-7214
Fax: 1-888-724-6031
|
Medical Provacy, Complaint Division
Office of Civil Rights
U.S. Depeartment of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 509F,
HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201
Telephone: 800-368-1019
E-Mail: ocrmail@hhs.gov
Website: www.hhs.gov/ocr
|