HIPAA Privacy Practices
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.
Protection of Your Medical Information
We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal and we are committed to protecting it. SortPak is required by law to provide you with this Notice so that you will understand how we may use or share your “Protected Health Information” (“PHI”). PHI is information we obtain to provide services to you and that can identify you. PHI includes your name, medical conditions, health information and other information we use to provide your prescriptions. We are required to adhere to the terms outlined in this Notice. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact SortPak.
Use and Disclosure of Protected Health Information
The following categories describe the ways that we use and disclose health information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.
For Treatment:
We may use PHI obtained by SortPak to dispense your prescription medications. We may disclose health information about you to doctors, nurses, other health care providers who are involved in taking care of you.
For Payment:
We may use or disclose your PHI so that the services you receive from SortPak may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, and insurance company, or third party. As an example, we may need to give your health plan information about your prescription so your health plan will pay us.
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. Unless there is a specific written request from you to the contrary, we may also tell your family or friends your condition and that you are a part of SortPak. 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.
Disclosures to Parents or Legal Guardians:
If you are a minor, we may release your PHI to your parents or legal guardians when we are permitted or required under federal and applicable state laws. In those cases, SortPak will follow state laws regarding disclosure of a minor’s PHI.
For Healthcare Operations:
We may use and disclose medical information about you for healthcare operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run SortPak 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 SortPak patients to decide what additional services SortPak should offer and what services are needed. We may also combine the medical information we have with medical information from other providers 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.
Refill Reminders:
We may use and disclose medical information to contact you as a reminder that you have an upcoming refill.
Treatment Alternatives:
We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
Health-Related Products And Services:
We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about our health-related products or services that may be of interest to you.
Marketing Activities:
We have the right to use medical information about you to contact you in an effort to encourage you to purchase or use a product or service. If we receive any direct or indirect payment for making such a communication, however, we would need your prior written permission to contact you. The only exceptions for seeking such permission are when our communication (i) describes only a drug or medication that is currently being prescribed for you and our payment for the communication is reasonable in amount or (ii) is made by one of our business partners consistent with our written agreement with the business partner.
Research:
Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes. 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. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of medical information, trying to balance the research needs with patients’ need for privacy of their medical information. Before we use or disclose medical information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process, but we may, however, disclose medical information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, for example, to help them look for patients with specific medical needs, so long as the medical information they review does not leave SortPak’s possession. We will almost always ask for your specific permission if the researcher will have access to your name, address or other information that reveals who you are.
Organ and Tissue Donation:
Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose your PHI to organizations engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.
Military and Veterans:
If you are a member of the armed forces, we may disclose health information about you as required by military authorities. We may also disclose health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.
Workers’ Compensation:
We may disclose health information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
As Required By Law or To Avert a Serious Threat to Heath or Safety:
We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law. We may also use and disclose health information about you to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person.
We may disclose health information about you for public health purposes, including: prevention or control of disease, injury or disability; reporting reactions to medications or problems with products; adverse drug reactions; notifying people of recalls of products; and notifying a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease. We may disclose PHI about you to a government authority if we reasonably believe you are a victim of abuse or neglect. We will only disclose this type of information to the extent required by law, if you agree to the disclosure, or if the disclosure is allowed by law and we believe it is necessary to prevent serious harm to you or someone else.
Health Oversight Activities:
We may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities may include audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings:
If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
Law Enforcement:
We may disclose health information when requested by a law enforcement official: In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process; to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; about you, the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain your agreement; about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct; about criminal conduct at SortPak; and in emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime.
Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors:
We may disclose medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also disclose medical information to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.
National Security and Intelligence Activities:
We may disclose health information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.
Correctional Institution:
Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution or its agents health information necessary for your health and the health and safety of others.
Protective services for the President and others:
We may disclose your PHI to authorized federal officials so that they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons, or foreign heads of state, or conduct special investigations.
Other Uses
Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this Notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission. If you provide us permission to use or disclose health information about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose health information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.
To the extent required by law, when using or disclosing your medical information or when requesting your medical information from another covered entity, we will make reasonable efforts not to use, disclose or request more than a limited data set (as defined below) of your medical information or, if needed by us, no more than the minimum amount of medical information necessary to accomplish the intended purpose of the use, disclosure or request, taking into consideration practical and technological limitations.
Your Rights
Although your health record is the property of SortPak, you have many rights regarding your information. The following are a list of rights regarding the information that belongs to you:
Right to Request Restrictions:
You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you. For example, you may request that we limit the health information we disclose to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care. You could ask that we not use or disclose information about a prescription you had to a family member or friend. 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. You must submit your request in writing to SortPak. 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, disclosures to your spouse.
Right to Request Alternate Communications:
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a confidential manner or at a specific location. For example, you may ask that we only contact you via mail to a post office box. You must submit your request in writing to SortPak. We will not ask you the reason for your request. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. We will accommodate all reasonable requests.
Right to Inspect and Copy:
With some exceptions, you have the right to review and copy your health information. You must submit your request in writing to SortPak. We may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.
Right to Amend:
If you feel that health information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have this right for as long as the information is kept by or for SortPak. You must submit your request in writing to SortPak. In addition, you must provide a reason for your request. We 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: was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment; is not part of the health information kept by or for SortPak; or is accurate and complete.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures:
You have the right to request an “accounting of disclosures”. This is a list of certain disclosures we made of your health information, other than those made for purposes such as treatment, payment, or health care operations. You must submit your request in writing to SortPak. Your request must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years from the date the request is submitted and may not include dates before March 18, 2018. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper or electronically). We may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred.
Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice:
You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically. You may ask us to give you a copy of this Notice at any time by contacting SortPak.
Changes to this notice
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and to make any such change applicable to the PHI we obtained about you before the change. If a change in our practices in material, we will revise this Notice to reflect the change. We will post a copy of the current notice on sortpak.com.
Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to file a complaint with SortPak and/or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with SortPak, contact SortPak. All complaints must be submitted in writing and you will not be penalized for filing a complaint.