Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how medical information about you that is obtained during treatment may be used and disclosed and how you can obtain access to this information.

Health information that Anonymous Health receives about you relating to your past, present or future health treatment, or payment for healthcare services, is protected health information (PHI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 45 CFR part 160 &164. The confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse records maintained by Anonymous Health is protected by the Alcohol and Other Drug Confidentiality Law, 42 CFR part 2. Staff at Anonymous Health may not say to a person outside of the organization that you are receiving services, disclose any information identifying you as a client, or use or disclose any other protected health information, except in limited circumstances permitted under Federal law. Any pertinent state law that is more protective or stringent than either of the two Federal laws stated previously further protects your health information.  

Use and disclosures that may be made of your health information:

1. Internal communications: Your protected health information will be used with Anonymous Health, which is between and among staff who have the need for the information in connection with our duty to diagnose, treat, or refer you for other more appropriate treatments. This means that. Your protected health information may be shared between and among staff for treatment, payments, or other care related to operational purposes. For example, Anonymous Health may share your protected health information in an effort to receive payment for health care services provided to you.
2. Qualified Service Organizations and/or Business Associates: Some or all of your protected health information may be subject to disclosure through contracts with qualified service organizations and/or business associates outside of Anonymous Health that provide a service to assist Anonymous Health in providing care. Examples of a qualified service organization and/or business associates include billing companies, data processing companies, or companies that provide administrative specialty services. To protect your health information, we require these qualified service organizations and/or business associates to follow the same standards held by Anonymous Health through terms detailed in a written agreement.
3. Medical Emergencies: Your health information may be disclosed to medical personnel in a medical emergency, when there is an imminent and immediate threat or danger to the health and safety of an individual, and when immediate medical intervention is required.
4. Auditors and Evaluators: Anonymous Health may disclose your protected health information to regulatory agencies, third-party payers, and other review organizations that monitor our programs to ensure that the program is complying with regulatory mandates.
5. Authorizing Court Order: Anonymous Health may disclose your protected health information in accordance with an authorizing court order. This is a unique kind of court order in which certain application procedures have been taken to protect your identity, and in which the court makes certain specific determination, as outlined in Federal law, that limits the scope of the disclosure.
6. Crime Against Personnel: Anonymous Health may disclose a limited amount of protected health information to law enforcement when a client commits or threatens to commit a crime against the organization or organization staff.
7. Reporting Suspected Child or Elder Abuse or Neglect: Anonymous Health may report suspected child or elder abuse and neglect as mandated by state law.
8. As Required by Law: Anonymous Health will disclose protected health information as required by state law in a manner otherwise permitted by federal privacy and confidentiality regulations.
9. Appointment Reminders: Anonymous Health reserves the right to contact you, in a manner permitted by law and approved by you, with appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives and other health related benefits that might be appropriate to you.
10. Other Uses and Disclosures of PHI: Other uses and disclosures of protected health information not covered by this notice will be made only with your written authorization or that or your legal representative. If you or your legal representative authorizes us to use or disclose protected health information about you, you or your legal representative may revoke that authorization, at any time, except to the extent that we have already taken action relying on that authorization.

Your rights regarding protected health information we maintain about you:

1. Right to Inspect and Copy: In most cases, you have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your protected health information that we maintain about you. To inspect and copy your protected health information, you must submit a request, in writing, to Anonymous Health. In order to receive a copy of your protected health information, you may be charged a fee for the printing, mailing, or other costs associated with your request. In some very limited circumstances we may, as authorized by law, deny your request to inspect and obtain a copy of your protected health information. You will be notified of a denial of any parts or parts of your request. Some denials, by law, are reviewable, and you will be notified regarding the procedures for invoking a right to have a denial reviewed. Other denials, however, as set forth in the law, are not reviewable. Each request will be reviewed individually and a response provided to you in accordance with the law.
2. Right to Amend Your Protected Health Information: If you believe that your protected health information is incorrect, or that an important part of it is missing, you have the right to ask us to amend your protected health information while it is kept by or for us. You must provide your request and the reason for the request in writing and Submit to Anonymous Health. We may deny your request if it is not in writing or does not include a reason that supports the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend protected health information that we believe:
   a. Is accurate and complete;
   b. Was not created by us, unless he person or entity that created the protected health information is no longer available to make the amendment;
   c. Is not part of the protected health information kept by or for us; or
   d. Is not part of the protected health information that you would be permitted to inspect and copy.
   
   If your right to amend is denied, we will notify you of the denial and provide you with instructions on how you may exercise your right to submit a written statement disagreeing with the denial, and/or how you may request that your request to amend and a copy of the denial letter be kept together with the protected health information at issue, and disclosed together with any further disclosures of the protected health information at issue.
3. Right to Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an accounting or list of disclosures that we have made of protected health information about you. The list will not include certain disclosures as set forth in the HIPAA regulations, including those made for treatment, payment, or other care related operations within the organization. To request this list, you must submit your request in writing to Anonymous Health. Your request must state the time period for which you want to receive a list of disclosures. The time period may not be longer than six years. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (e.g., on paper or electronically). The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. We may charge you for responding to additional requests. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before the costs are incurred.
4. Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on protected health information we are permitted to use or disclose about you for treatment, payment, or other care related operations within Anonymous Health. While we will consider your request, we are not required to agree with it. If we do agree to it, we will comply with your request, except in emergency situations where your protected health information is needed to provide you with emergency treatment. We will not agree to restrictions on uses or disclosures that are legally required, or those which are legally permitted and which we reasonably believe to be in the best interest of your health.
5. Right to File a Complaint: If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the office or with the Department of Health Services in your state. To file a complaint with Anonymous Health, please contact our compliance hotline at: (844) 542-5481. or compliance@anonymoushealth.com. You will not be penalized or otherwise retaliated against for filing a complaint. If you have questions about this, please contact us at (844) 542-5481.

Our Responsibilities

Anonymous Health is required to:

1. Maintain the privacy of your protected health information.
2. Provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your protected health information.
3. Abide by the terms of this notice while it is in effect.