HIPAA POLICY
HIPAA Policy or Notice of Privacy Practices for the SYNC powered by AACN platform (the “Platform”).
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW THE AACN MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
The Alamo Area Community Network (“AACN”) provides an alliance of many different community organizations (collectively, the “Community” and each, a “Partner”) in and around San Antonio, Texas working to provide community care coordination and limited health and educational support services (“Services”) to individuals. The AACN utilizes the Platform to store and share your personal information amongst the Community to aid in the provision of the Services.
Texas law prohibits the sale of protected health information (except to another covered entity for treatment, payment, health care operations, performance of an insurance or health maintenance organization function, or as required by law) and requires notice to individuals whose PHI is subject to electronic disclosure. An authorization for each disclosure of PHI is required, except as discussed below.
Contact for more information: [privacy@ouraacn.com]
Effective Date: The effective date of this Notice of Privacy Practices is: 10/26/2023
Notice Summary:
| Your Rights. You have the right to: |
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| Your Choices. You have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we: |
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| Our Uses and Disclosures. We may use and share your information as we: |
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YOUR RIGHTS
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.
Get a copy of your health records
- You can ask to see or get a copy of your health and claims records and other health information we have about you. Please contact the data privacy officer listed below to ask how to do this.
- We will provide a copy or a summary of your health records, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
Ask us to correct your health records
- You can ask us to correct your health records if you think they are incorrect or incomplete. Please contact the data protection officer listed below to ask how to do this.
- We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.
Request restrictions
- You have the right to request restrictions on the use and disclosure of your PHI for treatment, payment or health care operations purposes or notification purposes.
- We are not required to agree to your request, except in the case of a disclosure to a health plan for payment or health care operations (and is not for the purposes of carrying out treatment) and the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or service for which the health care provider involved has been paid out of pocket in full.
- If we do agree to a restriction, we will abide by that restriction unless you are in need of emergency treatment and the restricted information is needed to provide that emergency treatment.
- To request a restriction, submit your restriction request to the contact listed on the first page of this policy.
Request confidential communications
- You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
- We will consider all reasonable requests and must say “yes” if you tell us you would be in danger if we do not.
Ask us to limit what we use or share
- You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect the Services.
Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information
- You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
- We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
Get a copy of this privacy notice
- You can ask the data protection officer identified below for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
Choose someone to act for you
- If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
- We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated
- You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us using the information on the first page of this policy.
- A complaint to the Department of Health and Human Services should be sent to: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and 1301 Young St., Ste. 1169, Dallas, TX 75202, calling-1-877-696-6775, or visiting https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html.
- We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
YOUR CHOICES
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will do our best to follow your instructions.
In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
- Share information in a disaster relief situation
If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
- Marketing purposes
If you give such permission, you may later revoke it by sending written notice of revocation to the data protection officer.
OUR USES AND DISCLOSURES
How do we typically use or share your health information? We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
Aid in the provision of the Services. We can use your health information and share it with our Partners who are providing the Services to you.
- Example: You provide your information to one of the Partners who then refers you, along with your information, to another one of the Partners.
Run our organization. We can use and share your health information to help run the Platform and contact you when necessary.
- Example: We use health information about you to develop better services for you.
How else can we use or share your health information without your permission? We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information, see https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/guidance-materials-for-consumers/index.html.
Help with public health and safety issues. We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:
- Preventing disease
- Helping with product recalls
- Reporting adverse reactions to medications
- Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
- Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
Do research. We can use or share your information for health research.
Comply with the law. We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
Improve the Platform. We can share your information to help analyze the performance of the Platform and improve the Platform.
Work with a medical examiner or funeral director. We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.
Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests. We can use or share health information about you:
- For workers’ compensation claims
- For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
- With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
- For special government functions, such as military, national security, and presidential protective services
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions. We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
Our responsibilities include:
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your protected health information.
- We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
- We will not use or share your protected health information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.
DATA PROTECTION OFFICER
Please contact privacy@ouraacn.com.
CHANGES TO THE TERMS OF THIS NOTICE
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, and a copy will be provided to you.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information, contact the data protection officer or visit https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/notice-privacy-practices/index.html.