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 Wellness Company’s Privacy Policy
The Wellness Company and its
employees are committed to protecting the confidentiality and
privacy of your health information. We will only use or disclose the
minimum amount of your information that is necessary to perform a
job or complete an activity.
We are required by federal
law to provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices, which
explains our legal duties and privacy practices regarding your PHI.
We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice, and to post
a copy of this Notice on our website.
How we may use and disclose your PHI
Your health information will
be used for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations purposes,
or for other purposes permitted or required by law. We will not use
or disclose your health information for other reasons without your
written authorization.
Treatment.
We use your health information to provide you with health
services, and may use or disclose your PHI to physicians and
other authorized health care professionals who need that
information to take care of you.
Payment. We may use and
disclose your health information so that we can bill and collect
payment for services provided to you. We may use and disclose
your information for billing, claims management, and collection
activities. We may disclose PHI to insurance companies providing
you with additional coverage. We may disclose limited PHI to
consumer reporting agencies relating to collection of payments
owed to us. We may also disclose PHI to another health care
provider or to a company or health plan for the payment
activities of that healthcare provider, company, or health plan.
For example, we may allow a health insurance company to review
PHI for the insurance company’s activities to determine the
insurance benefits to be paid for your care.
Healthcare Operations.
We may use and disclose PHI in performing business activities
that are called healthcare operations. Healthcare operations
include doing things that allow us to improve the quality of
care we provide and to reduce healthcare costs.
We may also use and disclose your health
information as permitted by law, potentially including disclosures:
- To contact you about appointments and other matters;
- For public health, such as disaster relief; disease control;
or to report abuse, neglect, or domestic violence;
- For health oversight, such as
inspections, investigations, and audits;
- To avert a serious threat to health or
safety of a person or the public;
- To a law enforcement officer or a
correctional institution that has you in custody;
- To the federal government for national
security, protective services, military, or veterans activities;
- To comply with court orders, discovery
requests, or other legal process in the context of a judicial or
administrative proceeding;
- To carry out healthcare treatment,
payment, and operations functions through business associates,
e.g. to install a new computer system.
Your rights
concerning privacy and confidentiality
You have the following rights with respect
to your protected health information:
- To see or obtain a copy of your PHI. We
may not be able to provide certain information for specific
reasons, and if a denial is made, you may request that the
denial be reviewed.
- To request an amendment to your PHI that is wrong or
incomplete.
- To request a list where The Wellness
Company has sent your PHI since April 14, 2003. The list will
not include disclosures authorized by you; disclosures for
treatment, payment, and healthcare operations; or certain other
excluded purposes.
- To request that we contact you at a
different address or phone number, if contacting you about your
health information at your present location would endanger you.
- To request that we limit the use and
disclosure of your health information, although we are not
required to agree to your request.
- To request a paper copy of this Notice.
Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been
violated, you have the right to register a complaint with us, or
with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. You will not be penalized or retaliated against in any way
for making a complaint.
Contact
Call us at (401) 461-0662, or write to us at 132A George M. Cohan
Boulevard, Providence, RI 02903 if:
- You have a complaint;
- You have any questions about this Notice;
- You wish to exercise your rights; or
- You have any questions or concerns regarding the privacy or
confidentiality of your PHI.
Effective Date: April 14, 2003
Revised: October 24, 2007
