Octihealth Notice of Privacy Practices
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.
​
I. Uses & Disclosures
We may use and/or disclose your information for the following purposes:
-
Treatment: We may use your information to provide you patient care and/or other health- related services.
For example, we automatically enroll you with our telemedicine provider partners, and we share the information that you provide (either directly or through your caregiver) to us with the telemedicine provider so that they may provide this service. -
Operations: We may use your information to run our practice, improve your care, and/or contact you, when necessary.
For example, we use health information about you to manage your treatment and services. -
Payment: We use your information to bill and receive payment from health plans and other entities.
For example, we use information about you to bill your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.
We only share your personal information with third parties as required by law or contract, or as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy.
Only aggregated, anonymized data is periodically transmitted to external services providers to help us improve the Application and our service. Our service providers work on our behalf, do not have independent use of the information we disclose to them, and have agreed to comply with this privacy statement.
We are allowed and, in some instances, required by law to share your information for public health and safety issues. However, certain legal requirements must be met including our good faith belief that the law requires the disclosure prior to disclosing your information for these purposes. This may include instances where we are required to respond to legal requests from jurisdictions outside of the United States where we have a good faith belief that the response is
required by law in that jurisdiction, affects users in that jurisdiction, and is consistent with internationally recognized standards. For additional information, please see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html. These situations include:
-
Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence;
-
Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety;
-
Conducting research;
-
Complying with applicable laws and regulations;
-
Addressing workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests; and/or
-
Responding to lawsuits and legal actions.
We may also use the information that we receive to:
-
Contact you from time to time to provide you with important information, required notices, and/or marketing promotions;
-
Help you efficiently access your information after you sign in;
-
Enhance your user experience, for example saving information so you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Application;
-
Provide, improve, test, and monitor the effectiveness of our Application, including developing and testing new products and features;
-
Monitor metrics, such as total number of visitors, traffic, and demographic patterns;
-
Diagnose or fix technology problems.
​
Regarding Biometric Information: We use this information to identify caregivers and patients and verify your time entries when using the Application. We do not disclose this information unless you consent to such disclosure; the disclosure completes a financial transaction requested or authorized by you or your legally authorized representative; the disclosure is required by State or federal law or municipal ordinance; or the disclosure is required pursuant to a valid warrant or subpoena issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
-
We only retain this information for a period of up to 10 years. After this time, Octihealth will permanently destroy such data.
-
Octihealth will store, transmit, and protect biometric data using a reasonable standard of care. Such storage, transmission, and protection from disclosure will be performed in a manner that is the same as or more protective than the manner in which Octihealth stores, transmits, and protects from disclosure other confidential and sensitive information of Octihealth.
If we sell or otherwise transfer part or the whole of Octihealth or our assets to another organization (e.g., in the course of a transaction like a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, or liquidation), your information such as name and email address and any other information collected through the Application may be among the items sold or transferred. The buyer or transferee will have to honor the commitments we have made in this Privacy Policy.
​
Permitted Uses & Disclosures – Situational Disclosures​
You have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we provide updates on your treatment or care to your family and friends; market our services; and/or participate in fundraising efforts.
​
-
Sharing with Family/Friends: 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, please provide us with your instructions. In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
-
Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
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.
-
Marketing: We never share your information for marketing purposes unless you give us written permission.
-
Fundraising: We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.
-
Individual Rights
You have the right to request and receive a copy of your paper or electronic health record and the information we have about you. To make such a request, please contact: Intakeoctihealth@gmail.com. We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
You have the right to correct or amend your paper or electronic medical record. To make such a request, please contact: Intakeoctihealth@gmail.com. However, at times we may deny your request to correct or amend, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days of your request.
You have the right to 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 and we will comply with all reasonable requests. To make such a request, please contact: Intakeoctihealth@gmail.com.
You have the right to choose someone to act on your behalf. 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.
You have the right to request we limit the information we share. You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information. To make such a request, please contact Intakeoctihealth@gmail.com.
You have the right to request an accounting of those with whom we have shared your information. You can ask for an accounting (listing) of the times we’ve shared your health information within the 6 years prior to the date of your request, including with whom we shared your information 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. To make such a request, please contact Intakeoctihealth@gmail.com.
You have the right to receive a copy of this Privacy Policy and/or our Notice of Privacy Practices. You can ask 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.
You have the right to file a complaint using the resources listed below if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.
​
Duties of Octihealth
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 information. We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in our Notice of Privacy Practices and provide you with a copy of it. We will not use or share your 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. For more information on our responsibilities please see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.
Your information collected through the Application may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Octihealth or its service providers maintain facilities.
Octihealth or its service providers may transfer information that we collect about you, including personal information, to other countries or jurisdictions around the world. By registering for and using the Application, you consent to the transfer of information to any country in which Octihealth or its service providers maintain facilities and the use and disclosure of information about you as described in this Privacy Policy.
We use commercially reasonable safeguards to help keep the information collected through the Application secure and take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you access to your account. However, Octihealth cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to Octihealth or guarantee that information on the Service may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed.
We will retain user-provided data for as long as you use the Application. Following termination or deactivation of your account, we for a period of up to 10 years for backup, archival, and/or audit purposes.
From time to time, it may be necessary for Octihealth to modify or update this Notice of Privacy Practices (for example to reflect updates to the Application or where required by law). At these times we will notify you before we make these changes and give you the opportunity to review the revised Notice of Privacy Practices before continuing to use our services. Your continued use of the Octihealth Application or our services after any modification to this Notice of Privacy Practices will constitute your acceptance of such modification.
​
Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Octihealth directly by contacting:
CEO, Angela Wilson
350 W Kensington Rd., Unit 114
Mount Prospect, IL 60056 Phone: (847) 305-5484
With the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights by sending a letter to:
200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201
Or calling 1-877-696-6775
Or online at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
Octihealth will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
​
Contact Information
For additional information about this Notice of Privacy Practices or the Octihealth privacy policies and procedures, please contact us at Intakeoctihealth@gmail.com.
​
Effective Date
This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective as of February 25th, 2024.
​
Octihealth Privacy Policy
For the most up-to-date version of the Octihealth Privacy Policy, please see: https://www.octihealth.com/privacy-policy