CHC Privacy Notice - Collective Health Center

Notice of Privacy Practices

Updated: May 15, 2023

This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to your health information. Copies are given to all individuals receiving care. Please review this information carefully. Understanding your health information rights: Your health record is the physical property of Collective Health Center, LLC, (“CHC”) but the content is about you, and in that sense belongs to you. You have the right to review or obtain a paper copy of your health record. You have the right to authorize disclosure of the record to others, to be given an account of those disclosures, and to request restrictions on its disclosure. By law, CHC must honor such requests for restrictions when both of the following conditions are met: (1) the disclosure is for the purpose of carrying out payment or healthcare operations and is not otherwise required by law; and (2) the protected health information pertains solely to a healthcare item or service for which you, or someone on your behalf (other than the health plan), has paid CHC in full. Other than activity that has already occurred, you may also revoke any further authorizations to use or disclose your health information.

Our responsibility: CHC is required to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with this notice of our privacy practices. We’re required to follow the terms of this notice and to notify you if we are unable to grant your request to disclose or restrict disclosure of your health information to others. CHC reserves the right to change its practices and will make a good faith effort to notify you of any changes. Other than for the reasons described in this notice, CHC agrees not to use or disclose your health information without your consent.

Your health information will be routinely used for treatment/consultation, payment, and quality-monitoring, and your consent is not required in these instances, nor need we provide you the opportunity to agree or object:

Treatment/Consultation: Information obtained by your practitioner at CHC will be entered in our record and used to plan the services provided you. Your health information may be shared with others involved in your care or providing consultation about your health problems. Your practitioner’s own expectations and those of others involved in your care may also be recorded.

Payment: Your record will be used to seek and receive payment for CHC’s services. A bill may either be sent to you by mail or given to you in person, directly upon services rendered.

In addition, the following disclosures are required by law and do not require your consent:

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): This office is required by law to disclose health information to the FDA related to any possible adverse effects of food, supplements, products, and product defects to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacements where indicated.

Public Health: This office is required by law to disclose health information to public health and/or legal authorities to avert a serious threat to health or safety, to report communicable disease, injury, or disability, or to comply with mandated reporting requirements for tracking of mortality and morbidity.

Law Enforcement: As required under state or federal law, your health information will be disclosed to appropriate health oversight agencies, public health authorities, law enforcement officials, or attorneys: (1) In response to a valid subpoena; (2) In the event that a staff member or business associate of this office believes in good faith that one or more clients, workers, or the general public are endangered owing to suspected unlawful conduct of a practitioner or violations of professional or clinical standards; (3) When a client is a suspected victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.

It is CHC's practice to consider the following as routine uses and disclosures for which specific authorization will not be requested. You have the right to request restrictions on these uses, which will be honored to the extent required by law:

Business Associates: Some or all or your health information may be subject to disclosure through contracts for services to assist this office in providing healthcare. To protect your health information, we require these Business Associates to follow the same standards held by this office through terms detailed in a written agreement.

Communications with Family: Using our best judgment, we may notify or give information about your care to a family member, close personal friend you have identified, personal representative, or other persons responsible for your care to assist him, her, or them in enhancing your well-being or to confirm your whereabouts.

Otherwise, CHC will request your authorization whenever disclosure of protected health information it believes such disclosure to parties other than those referenced here is necessary.

Safeguards:

We understand that your health information is sensitive and confidential, and we take several measures to protect it. For instance, we have implemented physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure of your health information. We use an electronic medical record system with several safeguards including:

Encryption of data both in transit and at rest using SSL encryption and AES-256 bit encryption respectively.
Role-based access control to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to patient information.
Audit trails to track all user activities within the system.
Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify and address any security vulnerabilities.
Compliance with industry security standards such as HIPAA and HITECH.

Additionally, our staff undergoes regular training on privacy and security to ensure compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Filing a Complaint:

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with us or with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. To file a complaint with us, please contact our office through a patient portal message or by calling 571.314.0705. You may also file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights by visiting their website at https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html or by calling (800) 368-1019, TDD toll-free: (800) 537-7697.

Our designated privacy officer is Dr. Sarah Giardenelli, ND, MSOM, LAc, who can be reached through a patient portal message or by calling 571.314.0705. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your privacy rights, please do not hesitate to contact our privacy officer.