NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

This notice is to inform you how medical information may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to it. Please take time in reviewing it.

In compliance with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, known as HIPAA, our pharmacy has created this Notice of Privacy Practices (Notice). This notice describes Caring Pharmacy’s privacy practices and your rights as an individual, which are related to the privacy of your Protected Health Information (PHI).

PHI consists of information that could be used to identify you, as it associates with your previous and recent physical and mental health care services. The HIPAA regulations require that our pharmacy protects the privacy of your PHI we received or created.

Our pharmacy will abide by the terms and conditions included in this notice. For any uses or disclosures not found on the list below (Including Marketing and Selling of PHI), we are required to get your written authorization for such use or disclosure, which you will have the right to revoke at any time, as explained in more detail below. Our pharmacy reserves the right to change the privacy practices and this notice.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PHI

Below is an accounting of the ways that we are permitted, by law, to use and disclose your PHI.

  • Uses and disclosures of PHI for treatment:
    We will use the PHI that you provide to us for your prescription refill and coordination or management of your health care.
  • Uses and disclosures of PHI for payment:
    We will disclose your PHI to obtain payment or reimbursement from insurers for your prescriptions or pharmacy services.
  • Uses and disclosures of PHI for health care operations:
    We may use the minimum necessary amount of your PHI to conduct quality evaluations, improve activities, and evaluate the workforce.

Below is a list of additional means by which the pharmacy is permitted or required to use or disclose your PHI without your written authorization.

  • Uses and disclosures as required by law:
    We are required to use or disclose your PHI as required and as limited by law.
  • Uses and disclosure of Public Health Activities:
    Our pharmacy may use or disclose PHI about you to a public health organization that is authorized by law to collect to prevent or control disease, injury, or disability. This includes the FDA so that it may monitor any adverse effects of drugs, foods, nutritional supplements, and other products as required by law.
  • Uses and disclosure about victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence:
    We may use or disclose your PHI to a government authority if it is reasonably believed that you are a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
  • Uses and disclosures for health oversight activities:
    We may use or disclose your PHI to a health monitoring agency for oversight activities which may include investigations, audits, and inspections required for licensure, compliance with civil laws, or other activities the health oversight agency is authorized by law to conduct.
  • Disclosures to individuals involved in your care:
    We may disclose your PHI to individuals and health professionals involved in your care.
  • Disclosures for judicial and administrative proceedings:
    We may disclose your PHI in the course of any judicial or administrative proceedings, provided that appropriate documentation is presented to our pharmacy.
  • Disclosures for law enforcement purposes:
    We may disclose your PHI to law enforcement officials for authorized purposes in response to a court order or subpoena, or as required by law.
  • Uses and disclosures about the deceased:
    We may disclose PHI about a deceased, or before, and in reasonable anticipation of an individual’s death, to medical examiners, funeral directors, and coroners.
  • Uses and disclosures for cadaveric organ, eye, or tissue donation purposes:
    We may disclose and use your PHI for banking, procurement, or transplantation of cadaveric organs, eyes, or tissues for donation purposes.
  • Uses and disclosures for research purposes:
    We may use and disclose your PHI for research purposes provided that a valid waiver of authorization is available and approved by a privacy board or an institutional review board. Otherwise, we will ask for a signed authorization by the individual for all other research purposes.
  • Uses and disclosures to avert a serious threat to health or safety:
    We may use or disclose your PHI, if it is believed in good faith, and is consistent with the standards and applicable laws of ethical conduct, to avert a serious threat to health or safety.
  • Uses and disclosures for specialized government function:
    We may use or disclose your PHI as required for specialized government functions such as national security and intelligence, military and veteran’s activities, protective services, correctional institutions, law enforcement custodial situations, and department of state functions.
  • Disclosure for workers’ compensation:
    We may use or disclose your PHI as authorized by and as a requirement to comply with workers’ compensation laws or programs established by law.
  • Disclosures for disaster relief purposes:
    We may use or disclose your PHI as authorized by law to a private or public entity to support disaster relief efforts and for family and personal representative notification.
  • Disclosures to business associates:
    We may use or disclose your PHI to our business associates for services that they may provide to or for the pharmacy. To ensure the privacy of your PHI, we require all business associates to apply appropriate security and confidentiality to any PHI they receive or create.
OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES

We may contact you for the following purposes:

  • Information about treatment alternatives:
    We can contact you to notify you of alternative treatments and/or products.
  • Health-related benefits or services:
    We may use your PHI to inform you about the benefits and services our pharmacy offers.
  • Fundraising:
    If our pharmacy partakes in a fundraising activity, we may use demographic PHI to send you a fundraising packet, or we may disclose demographic PHI about you to our business associate or an institutionally related foundation to send you a fundraising packet. Without your written authorization, any further disclosure should not be prohibited by the business associates or an institutionally related foundation. You will be provided with an opportunity to opt-out of all future fundraising activities.
FOR ALL OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES

Our pharmacy will require a written authorization from you for all other uses and disclosures of PHI, and any disclosure of your PHI will be according to such an authorization. Besides, you may revoke such an authorization in writing at any time.

YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS

The following is the list of your rights concerning your PHI. Please contact us for more information about them below.

  • Request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your PHI:
    You have the right to ask for additional restrictions of the pharmacy’s uses and disclosures of your PHI. The pharmacy is not required to accommodate a request, except that the pharmacy is required to agree to a request to restrict disclosures to health insurance plans related to products and services you pay out-of-pocket for.
  • The right to have your PHI communicated to you by alternate means or locations:
    You have the right to request to have confidential communication with the pharmacy using an address or phone number other than your residence. However, state and federal laws require the pharmacy to have an accurate address and home phone number in case of emergencies. The pharmacy will consider all reasonable requests.
  • The right to inspect and/or obtain a copy of your PHI:
    It’s your right to request access and/or get a copy of your PHI that is contained in the pharmacy for the duration the pharmacy maintains PHI about you. There may be a reasonable cost-based charge for photocopying documents. You will be notified in advance of incurring such charges if any.
  • The right to amend your PHI:
    You are allowed to request an amendment of the PHI the pharmacy maintains about you if you feel that your PHI maintained in the pharmacy is incorrect or otherwise incomplete. Under certain circumstances, we may deny your request for an amendment. If we do deny the request, you will have the right to have the denial reviewed by someone we designate who was not involved in the initial review. You may also ask the Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), or their appropriate designee, to review such a denial.
  • The right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your PHI:
    You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures of your PHI made by the pharmacy.
  • The right to receive additional copies of the pharmacy’s notice of privacy practices:
    You have the right to ask for additional paper copies of this notice, upon request, even if you initially agreed to receive the notice electronically.
  • Notification of Breaches:
    We will notify you of any breaches that have compromised the privacy of your PHI.
REVISIONS TO THE NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

The pharmacy reserves the right to change and/or revise this notice and make the new revised version applicable to all PHI received before its effective date. The pharmacy will also post the revised version of the notice in the pharmacy.

COMPLAINTS

You may file a complaint with the pharmacy and/or to the Secretary of HHS if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. If you wish to file a complaint with the pharmacy, please contact us. If you wish to file a complaint with the secretary, please write to:

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/office/about/rgn-hqaddresses.html

CONTACT INFORMATION

For further questions about the pharmacy’s privacy practices or if you need clarification on anything contained within the notice, please contact:

Phone: 215-739-9975
Email: caring2541@gmail.com

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