PRIVACY POLICY
We at MDPoint are very concerned for our customers and protecting their privacy
to the best of our ability, so we have implemented a very secure process to ensure
privacy protection. Delta Health will never sell, share, or distribute your personal,
medical, or financial information to any third-party other than your assigned Delta
Health Network physician.
Our website utilizes Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) Encryption Technology, which is
the latest privacy technology available. Through this technology, all sensitive
information is encrypted and/or scrambled before it is transmitted to or from our
website, which renders the information useless to unauthorized parties.
This privacy notice and the privacy practices explained in this notice notify you
of our commitment to protecting private health information, and permitting patients
to exercise their rights concerning health information. No legal relationship between
any medical personnel and associated companies is created or implied for any other
purpose.
Your Health Care Information is Your Personal Information. We know that information
about your health care is private. We must create certain records which contain
information about your health.
The law requires that we give you written notice of our privacy practices, and requires
that we follow the terms of our privacy notice currently in effect. This Notice
of Privacy Practices describes our commitment and the commitment of the medical
personnel and pharmacies to the protection and confidentiality of your health information.
This notice also describes your rights concerning your health information, including
your right to inspect and amend your health information. We are committed to following
the law which requires that protected health information is kept private subject
to legal requirements which authorize or require its disclosure in limited circumstances.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), provides
you with several rights related to your Personal Health Information. These rights
are summarized below. If you would like more information about your rights, please
ask to speak with our Privacy Officer at 904-296-7724.
HIPAA requires that we give you this "Notice of Privacy Practices" and make a good
faith effort to obtain your acknowledgement that you were given this notice. Upon
giving you this Notice, you will be asked to electronically select a checkbox and
acknowledge that you received this notice. We appreciate your cooperation in reviewing
this notice and in giving us your electronic acknowledgment, which will serve like
as your signature.
HIPAA also requires that this Notice, at a minimum, cover the following three areas.
- Your rights with respect to your personally identifiable health information.
- How we will use and disclose your personally identifiable health information.
- Our legal duties to protect the confidentiality of your personally identifiable
health information.
How We May Use and Disclose Health Information
Unless we have your written authorization, we will not use and disclose your protected
health information, except under the limited circumstances explained below. We will
not disclose protected health information about you for any other reason without
your written authorization. If you give us an authorization permitting us to release
protected health information, you may revoke the authorization in writing, except
to the extent we have already disclosed information pursuant to the authorization.
Disclosures of your Protected Health Information (PHI) may result under normal pharmacy
activities. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA),
requires that this "Notice" describe how we may use and disclose your protected
health information (PHI). These uses and disclosures are summarized below, but if
you would like more information about any of these please contact our Privacy Officer
at the email address or telephone number on our web site.
- Health Information is used to allow Delta Health to schedule your appointment and
telephone consultations with one of our physicians. We may use or disclose your
protected health information for the purpose of providing treatment to you.
- Limited Information is used to obtain payment for physician consultations. We obtain
payment for our services through your credit card company or through a check processing
service. The only information we share with your credit card company or check processing
service is your name, billing address and phone number, and credit card number.
For customers paying by check, we also provide your checking account number to a
check processing service. We do not share any information with your credit card
company or check processing service which discloses the type of medication dispensed
to our customers. All personal and credit card information is submitted using Secure
Encryption Technology.
- Information May Be Used for Health Care Operations. We may use or disclose health
care information for our operations. For example, we may use information concerning
your scheduled consultations to evaluate the quality of care and services our staff
is providing to you. Delta Health and any contracted medical personnel involved
with your care may also disclose health care information to each other as necessary
to assist them with providing treatment to you, operating their companies, or to
obtain payment.
- Consult Reminders and Information about Treatment Alternatives. We may use health
care information to contact you by e-mail for the purpose of reminding you of your
ability to schedule a consultation, or inform you about treatment alternatives or
other health related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. Please
advise our Privacy Officer by e-mail or U.S. mail at the privacy contact address
described at the end of this Notice if you do not wish us to contact you concerning
consult reminders, treatment alternatives, or other health related benefits and
services that may be of interest to you.
- Disclosures as Required by Law. We may use or disclose protected health information
if required to do so by federal, state, or local law. The use or disclosure will
be made in compliance with the law, and will be limited to the relevant requirements
of the law. For example, we may be required to disclose your health information
in relation to cases of suspected abuse, neglect, domestic violence or certain physical
injuries, or to respond to a subpoena, or order of a court or administrative tribunal.
- Disclosures for Public Health Activities. We may be required to disclose protected
health information for public health activities to a public health authority authorized
by law to collect or receive this information, such as the Food and Drug Administration,
for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
- Disclosures to Coroners and Medical Examiners. We may be required to disclose health
information about patients who have died to coroners and medical examiners so they
may carry out their duties, such as determining the cause of death.
- Disclosures Concerning Organ Donors. If you are an organ donor, we may be asked
to disclose information concerning your health or drugs we have prescribed to organ
procurement organizations, eye banks, and other similar organizations for the purpose
of facilitating organ, eye or tissue donation and transplantation.
- Disclosures to Avert a Serious Threat to Health. As required by law and standards
of ethical conduct, we are permitted to release your health information to the proper
authorities if we believe, in good faith, that such release is necessary to prevent
or minimize a serious and imminent threat to your, the public's, or another individual's
health or safety.
- Disclosures for Health Oversight Activities. We are permitted to disclose your health
information to a health oversight agency for monitoring and oversight activities
authorized by law. This might include release of information to the state agency
that licenses pharmacies for the purpose of monitoring or inspecting pharmacies
related to that license.
- Disclosures for Workers Compensation Purposes. We may be required to release protected
health information about you to the extent necessary to follow the laws relating
to workers compensation or other similar programs that provide benefits for work
related injuries or illness.
- Disclosures to Business Associates. We may request certain businesses
to assist us with our health care operations. In the event it is necessary to disclose
protected health information pertaining to our customers to these business associates,
we will enter into written contracts with them requiring that they keep protected
health information private and secure.
Your Rights Pertaining to Your Health Care Information
- Right to Request Confidential Communications. We intend to communicate with our
customers by e-mail or telephone through the information you provided to us. You
have the right to request that we communicate with you in a certain way or at a
certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you by U.S. mail
at a private post office box. We will not ask you the reason for your request.
To request we communicate with you to a specific location, or in a particular manner,
please obtain our "Request for Communications via Specific Means or at Alternative
Locations" form by contacting our Privacy Officer as described later in this Notice,
and submit the completed form to our Privacy Officer by e-mail or U.S. mail. We
will accommodate all reasonable requests.
- Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to ask for restrictions on how
your health information is used or to whom your information is disclosed, even if
the restriction affects your treatment, our payment, or health care operation activities.
However, we are not required to agree to your requested restriction and, even if
we agree to the requested restriction, we are permitted to use your information
without complying with the restriction if necessary to treat you in an emergency
situation.
To request a restriction, please obtain our "Request for Restrictions on the Use
and Disclosure of Health Information" form by contacting our Privacy Officer as
described later in this Notice, and submit the completed form to our Privacy Officer
by e-mail or U.S. mail.
- Your Right to Inspect and Obtain a Copy of Your Health Information. You have the
right to inspect and obtain a copy of health information that we maintain about
you. This includes health records and billing records. To inspect or request a copy
of your health information, please contact and obtain our "Request to Copy or Inspect
Records" form from our Privacy Officer as described later in this Notice, and submit
the completed form to our Privacy Officer specifying the records you would like
to inspect or to have us copy for you. If you request a copy of the records, we
may charge a fee for the cost of copying, mailing, or services associated with your
request. In certain very limited circumstances, the law provides that we may deny
your request to inspect or copy these records. If you are denied access to health
information, you may request that the denial be reviewed by a licensed health care
professional chosen by us who did not participate in the original decision to deny
your access to review your request and the reasons for the denial.
- Your Right to Request an Amendment to Your Health Information. If you believe the
health information within your medical record is incorrect, you may ask us to amend
the information. Please submit such requests in writing by e-mail or U.S. mail to
our Privacy Officer at the address listed below, and include the requested amendment
along with a reason you believe your health information should be amended. We are
not required, however, to honor your request if we did not create the information
you are requesting be amended or if the information in your record is correct. We
will respond to your request in writing within 60 days of the date of receipt of
your written request for amendment of your information, unless we advise you we
require an additional 30 days.
- Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request a list accounting
for any disclosures of your protected health information we have made, except for
uses and disclosures for a) treatment, payment, and health care operations, b) disclosures
to you, c) disclosures pursuant to your authorization, and d) disclosures for certain
other limited reasons specified by law. To request a list of disclosures, please
contact our Privacy Officer by e-mail or U.S. mail at the address listed below,
and obtain our "Request for an Accounting of Disclosures of Protected Health Information"
form, and submit the completed form to the Privacy Officer. Your request must state
a time period which may not be longer than six years, and may not include dates
before January 1, 2006. The first list you request within a 12 month period will
be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the
list. We will mail you a list of disclosures within 60 days of your request, unless
we advise you we require a period of up to an additional 30 days to comply with
your request.
- Right to a Paper Copy of this Notice. You have the right to obtain a paper copy
of this notice at any time. To obtain a paper copy, please request it from our Privacy
Officer at the address listed below. You may also view and print a copy of our Notice
of Privacy Practices at http://www.Delta Health or this website.
- Effective Date. This revised Notice of Privacy Practices is effective on January
20, 2009; and pertains to all protected health information we maintain.
- Changes to this Notice. We reserve the right to change this notice, and we may make
the revised or changed notice effective for all protected health information we
already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will
post a copy of the current notice on our website. The notice will contain an effective
date. In addition, each time you request medications from us, our current Notice
of Privacy Practices will be available to you. Our current Notice of Privacy Practices
may be viewed on the Delta Health website or this website, and may be obtained by
requesting it by telephone, by e-mail, or in writing from our Privacy Officer.
- Complaints. We are committed to safeguarding your protected health information.
Despite our good faith efforts, questions, concerns, mistakes, and misunderstandings
may arise. If you have a concern or believe that we may have violated your privacy
rights, we encourage you to bring that to our attention.
You may bring any complaints or concerns regarding your privacy rights to our attention
by calling our corporate offices and requesting to speak with our Privacy Officer
or their authorized representative. If you prefer, you may submit a complaint by
e-mail to privacy@Delta Health. You also may complain to the Secretary of the Department
of Health and Human Services or his or her authorized representative if you believe
your privacy rights have been violated.
We take all concerns and complaints very seriously and will investigate each one
promptly. If we made a mistake, we will do what we can to correct it and take steps
to prevent mistakes in the future. Under no circumstances will we retaliate against
you for expressing a concern or filing a complaint relating to your privacy rights.
- Privacy Officer and Privacy Contact Person. If you have any questions about this
notice or wish to exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact Delta Health's
Privacy Officer, or their authorized representative by calling our corporate offices
at the number on the contact us page.
- Acknowledgment of Receipt of this Notice. We will request you
electronically acknowledge you have received a copy of this notice when you first
request we provide services to you by checking a box acknowledging your receipt
of this Notice of Privacy Practices. Please check this box only if you have received
this Notice.