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.
The Massachusetts Laboratories, Inc. (“Medivolve”) is required by law to protect the privacy of health information that may reveal your identity and to provide you with our notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information. Medivolve is also required to give you a notice to tell you how it may use and disclose (give out) your personal health related information.
Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations
We may use and disclose Protected Health Information (PHI) for the purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations without your written permission, in most cases. Examples of the uses and disclosures that Medivolve, as a health care provider, may make for these purposes include the following:
Treatment refers to the provision, coordination, or management of health care and related services by one or more health care providers. For example, as a health care provider, we may disclose your PHI, as necessary, to other health care providers involved in your treatment. We may use and disclose your PHI to provide the treatment you require, such as communicating your PHI to a hospital or dispatch center and providing a hospital with information that we create in the course of treating and transporting you.
Payment refers to activities we undertake to obtain reimbursement for your health care services. For example, we may use and disclose your PHI to bill a third-party payer for the cost of treatment, equipment, and supplies provided to you.
Health Care Operations refers to the basic business functions necessary to operate as a health care provider. For example, we may use or disclose, as needed, your PHI in order to support business activities, including quality assessment and improvement activities, employee review and evaluation activities, training, licensing, legal services, auditing, business planning, business management activities, and conducting or arranging for other business activities.
Federal law also allows us to use and disclose PHI, without your written authorization, in certain situations, unless the use or disclosure is prohibited by a more stringent state law. The examples of permitted uses and disclosures of your PHI include, but are not limited to, those listed below.
Public Health Activities: We may disclose your PHI for public health activities in certain situations and as required by law. For example, we may use or disclose your PHI to: a public health authorities for public health activities such as preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability; a government authority authorized to receive child abuse or neglect reports; the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for activities related to the quality, safety, or effectiveness of FDA- regulated products or activities, including drugs, food, medical devices, and dietary supplements; a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or who may be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or condition; to a person or entity in order to prevent or lessen a serious threat to health or safety of a person or the public; an employer, under certain circumstances, such as those related to work-related illness or injury; and a school, in certain circumstances, if you are a student or prospective student of the school and the PHI is limited to proof of immunization. The New York State Department of Health is a public health authority that is authorized by law to collect, receive and disclose PHI for certain public health purposes, such as preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your health information to agencies authorized to perform health oversight activities. These activities may include audits, investigations, inspections and licensure. These activities are necessary to monitor the operation of the health care system, government benefit programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, and compliance with Civil rights laws.
Lawsuits, Disputes, and Other Legal Matters: We may disclose your PHI in response to a court or administrative order, if you are involved in a lawsuit or administrative proceeding, or as required by law. In some cases, we may also disclose your PHI in response to a discovery request, subpoena, or other lawful process.
Law Enforcement: We may disclose your health information to law enforcement officials to comply with a legal order or law we are required to follow. In certain circumstances we are required to disclose your health information to law enforcement agencies.
Inmates and Correctional Institutions: We may disclose your health information to correctional officers and law enforcement officials if necessary, to provide you with health care, to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others, and to protect the safety and security of the correctional institution.
Required by Law: We will share information about you if required by state or federal laws.
Research: We can use or share your information for health research in limited circumstances where the information will be protected by the researchers.
Military and Veterans: We may use and disclose your PHI if you are a member of the Armed Forces or a foreign military, if certain criteria are met.
Workers’ Compensation: We may disclose your PHI as authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers’ compensation or other similar programs.
We will not use or share your information for any purposes not described in this Notice without your written authorization. You may revoke (take back) your written authorization at any time, except if action has already been taken based on your authorization.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI, to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI, and to notify you in the event that we discover a breach of unsecured PHI. As a patient, you have rights with respect to your PHI, including:
Right to Request Restrictions on Uses and Disclosures: You have the right to request that Medivolve limit certain uses and disclosures of your PHI. Any such request must be made in writing to the contact listed in this Notice and must state the specific restriction requested and to whom that restriction would apply. Medivolve is not required to agree to certain restrictions that you request.
Your Right to Request Confidential Communication
You have the right to request that Medivolve communicate with you about your health care or medical matters through a reasonable alternative way or at an alternative location.
Right to Access Your PHI: You have the right to see and obtain a copy of your personal health related information held by Medivolve.
Right to Amend PHI: You have the right to have your personal health related information amended if you believe that it is wrong or if information is missing and Medivolve agrees. If Medivolve disagrees, you may have a statement of your disagreement added to your personal health related information.
Right to Receive an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to obtain a listing of those persons or organizations who receive your personal health related information from Medivolve. The listing will not cover health related information that was disclosed to you, information disclosed for treatment, payment, or health care operations, or information used to conduct Medivolve routine operations.
To file a complaint (if you believe your privacy rights have been violated), you can contact the Medivolve by emailing [email protected], or by writing to the following address: Massachusetts Laboratories, Inc., 225 Dyer Street, 2nd Floor, Providence, RI 02903. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint or assisting an investigation.
Medivolve is required to follow the terms in this notice. Medivolve has the right to change the way your personal health related information is used and disclosed. Any new Notice will be available at our sites and by writing to: Massachusetts Laboratories, Inc., 225 Dyer Street, 2nd Floor, Providence, RI 02903. You have the right to a paper copy of our current Notice of Privacy Practices at any time.