Suffering from a chronic wound? Call (877) 988-7420
Effective Date: February 1, 2023
Last Updated: July 10, 2024
This Website is available at www.woundlocal.com ("Website" or "Site") and is provided to you by IndieMD Network LLC ("WoundLocal", "we", or "us"). WoundLocal’s affiliated covered entities are committed to protecting the privacy and safeguarding the security of your protected health information. When you receive services from WoundLocal we record information that identifies you and that relates to your medical condition, services that are provided to you, and information required for payment purposes.
This information is called Protected Health Information (“PHI”). This Notice does not apply to information that could not reasonably be used to identify you. We are required to abide by thisNotice, maintain the privacy and security of your PHI, and advise you of our legal duties and privacy practices regarding PHI. We will also comply with applicable state laws that may provide more protection to your PHI. For example, sometimes state laws require us to obtain written authorization for certain disclosures otherwise permitted by HIPAA, such as disclosure of mental health records,HIV results, or other particularly sensitive information.
We may use or disclose your PHI verbally, on paper, or electronically as allowed by state and federal law. Examples of how we may use and disclose your PHI include:
We may use and disclose your PHI to provide you with medical care and services. For example, we may disclose your PHI to your other treating physicians to coordinate your health care and related services.
We may use and disclose your PHI as necessary for activities relating to payment for healthcare services rendered to you. For example, we may disclose your PHI to your health insurance company to obtain payment. We may also disclose your PHI for verification of benefits.
We may use and disclose your PHI for our healthcare operations. These uses and disclosures allow us to continually improve your care's quality. For example, we may use and disclose your PHI to review our treatment and services and evaluate the performance of our staff. We may use your PHI to create limited data sets or de-identified information that may be used and disclosed for any lawful purpose. We may also transfer information we collect, including PHI, to a third party in connection with a sale or merger. We may also transmit PHI to other covered entities for certain healthcare operations of those entities, as permitted by law.
We will disclose your information when we are required to do so by federal, state, or locallaw.
We may disclose your PHI for public health activities such as preventing Or controlling disease, reporting adverse events, product defects, or Food and Drug Administration reporting.
We may disclose your PHI if we reasonably believe you are a victim of abuse, neglect, ordomestic violence. We will make this report only in accordance with laws that require or allow such reporting or with your permission.
We may disclose your PHI to health oversight agencies. This includes uses or disclosures in civil, administrative, or criminal investigations; licensure or disciplinary actions; inspections; and other activities necessary for appropriate oversight of government programs.
If you or your information are involved in a lawsuit or dispute, we may disclose your PHI in response to a court or administrative order, a subpoena, or other lawful process. We can also share information when a protective order is in place, or the use or disclosure otherwise complies with law, such as a lawsuit brought for payment purposes.
We may disclose your PHI for law enforcement purposes. This includes providing information for identification and location purposes or in connection with suspected criminal activity.
We may disclose your PHI in an effort to determine the cause of death, to funeral directors to assist them in carrying out their duties, and to organ procurement organizations (for organ, eye, or tissue donation).
We may use or disclose your PHI in connection with medical research projects if allowed under federal and state laws and regulations. We may disclose PHI for use in a limited dataset for purposes of research, public health, or health care operations, but only if a data use agreement has been signed or the disclosure otherwise complies with law.
We may disclose your PHI for a number of specialized purposes, including national securityand intelligence purposes, military and veteran activities, protective services for thePresident and others, and to a correctional institution or law enforcement officials toprovide the inmate with health care, to protect the health and safety of the inmate andothers, and for the safety, administration, and maintenance of the correctional institution.
We may disclose your PHI to your employer for purposes of workers' compensation and work site safety laws.
We may disclose your PHI to organizations engaged in emergency and disaster relief efforts.
We may contact you as part of a fundraising effort. You will have the opportunity to opt outof receiving future fundraising communications if you receive written fundraising communications from us.
We may disclose your PHI if we believe that the disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm to the public or to an individual. The disclosure will only be made to someone who is able to prevent or reduce the threat.
We may disclose your PHI to a member of your family or someone else involved in your medical care or payment for care. We may notify family or friends if you are in the hospital and tell them of your general condition. This may include telling a family member about the status of a claim or what benefits you are eligible to receive. In the event of a disaster, we may provide information about you to a disaster relief organization so they can notify your family of your condition and location. We will not disclose your information to family or friends if you object. We may also disclose PHI to your personal representatives who havethe authority to act on your behalf (for example, to parents of minors or to someone with a power of attorney).
We may use your PHI to provide you with additional information. This may include sending appointment reminders to the phone, address, or e-mail that you have furnished to us or the hospital where you are being treated. This may also include giving you information about treatment options, alternative settings for care, or other health-related services
We may hire third parties that may need your PHI to perform certain services on our behalf. Under HIPAA and the HITECH Act, these third parties must protect any PHI theyreceive from us or create and/or maintain on our behalf in the same way that we must guard your PHI.
No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
We will ask for your written authorization if we plan to use or disclose your PHI for reasons not covered in this Notice. For example, we may request your authorization to engage in marketing activities not already permitted by HIPAA or disclose psychotherapy notes. If you authorize us to use or disclose your PHI, you have the right to revoke a HIPAA authorization at any time. If you want to revoke an authorization, you must send a written notice to thePrivacy Officer listed at the end of this notice. If you revoke an authorization, the revocation will not cover the information already used or disclosed in reliance on the authorization.
You have the right to ask us to restrict how we use or disclose your PHI. You must provide a request, in writing, to the Privacy Officer listed in this Notice. We are required to comply with a request for restriction where the disclosure is to a health plan for purposes of carrying out payment when you have paid out of pocket in full. We will consider all other requests but are not required to agree. If we do agree, we will comply with the request unless the information is needed to provide you with emergency treatment. A restriction cannot prevent uses and disclosures that are required by the Secretary of DHHS to determine or investigate WoundLocal's compliance with the Privacy Rules or that are otherwise required by law.
You have the right to ask us to communicate with you at a special address or by a special means. For example, you may ask us to send letters that contain your PHI to a different address rather than to your home, or you may ask us to speak to you personally on the telephone rather than sending your PHI by mail. These requests must be made in writing, and we will agree to reasonable requests.
You have a right to inspect the PHI about you that we have in a designated record set and to receive a copy of it. This right is limited to information that is kept in records used to make decisions about you. For instance, this includes medication lists, lab results, and encounter information. Where your PHI is contained in an Electronic Health Record, you have the right to obtain a copy of such information in an electronic format, and you may request that WoundLocal transmit such copy directly to an entity or person designated by you, provided that any such choice is clear, conspicuous, and specific. If you want to review or receive a copy of these records, you must make the request in writing. We may charge a fee for the cost of copying and mailing the records. To ask to inspect your records or to receive a copy, contact the Privacy Officer listed in this Notice. We will respond to your request within the time required by HIPAA and state law. We may deny you access to certain information. If we do, we will give you the reason in writing. We will also explain how you may appeal the decision.
You have the right to ask us to amend PHI about you in a designated record set that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. You must make this request in writing and give us the reason you believe the information is not correct or complete. We will respond to your request in writing within 60 days. We may deny your request under certain circumstances.
You have a right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures of your information outside of WoundLocal made within the previous 6 years from the date of your request. We will not include disclosures about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make), except if required by regulation. The first request will be provided to you at no cost. However, we may charge you for any additional requests made within the same 12-month period.
You have a right to receive a paper copy of this Notice. If you agree to receive this Notice electronically, you may receive a paper copy by contacting the Privacy Officer listed at the end.
You have a right to complain about our privacy practices if you think your privacy rightshave been violated. You may file your complaint with the Privacy Officer listed at the end of this Notice. You may also file a complaint with the Secretary of the U. S. Department ofHealth and Human Services at the Office for Civil Rights. All complaints must be in writing.We will not take any retaliation against you if you file a complaint.
While we take privacy and security very seriously, sometimes things go wrong. We will letyou know promptly if a breach occurs that compromises the privacy or security of yourcinformation.
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices as described in this Notice at any time. We reserve the right to apply these changes to any PHI that we already have, as well as to the PHIwe receive in the future. We will update this Notice before we make any changes to our privacy practices as described. We will make the new Notice available upon request.
If you have any questions about this Notice or our privacy policies, or if you have questions about how to exercise your rights, please contact us at legal@woundlocal.com. For any other requests, please contact us at contact@woundlocal.com.
