NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
EFFECTIVE AS OF JUNE 1, 2020
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.
AllerGenis LLC (“AllerGenis”) is committed to protecting the privacy of your identifiable health information. This information is known as “protected health information” or “PHI.” PHI includes laboratory test orders and test results as well as invoices for the healthcare services that we provide.
Your Patient 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 an electronic or paper copy of your test results
You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your test results and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
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.
Ask us to correct your medical record
You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.
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 say “yes” to all reasonable requests.
Ask us to limit what we use or 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 healthcare 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.
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 healthcare 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 for a paper copy of this notice at any time. 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 by email at healthprivacy@allergenis.com or:
AllerGenis LLC
Attn: Privacy Officer
2801 Sterling Dr.
Hatfield, PA 19440
Phone: 888-436-6339
You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
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 follow 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.
In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
Marketing purposes
Sale of your information
Our Uses and Disclosures
We use your PHI for treatment, payment or healthcare operations purposes and for other purposes permitted or required by law. Not every use or disclosure is listed in this Notice, but all of our uses or disclosures of your health information will fall into one of the categories listed below.
We need your written authorization to use or disclose your health information for any purpose not covered by one of the categories below. Subject to compliance with limited exceptions, we will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes or sell your PHI, unless you have signed an authorization. You may revoke any authorization you sign at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your health information for the reasons stated in your authorization except to the extent we have already taken action based on your authorization
How do we typically use or share your health information?
We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
Treat you
We provide laboratory testing for physicians and other healthcare professionals, and we use your information in our testing process. We disclose your health information to authorized healthcare professionals who order tests or need access to your test results for treatment purposes. Examples of other treatment related purposes include disclosure to an allergist to help interpret your test results or use of your information to contact you to obtain another specimen, if necessary.
Run our organization
We may use and disclose your PHI for activities necessary to support our healthcare operations, such as performing quality checks on our testing, internal audits, arranging for legal services or developing reference ranges for our tests.
Bill for your services
We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. For example, we may disclose your PHI to health plans or other payers to determine whether you are enrolled with the payer or eligible for health benefits or to obtain payment for our services. If you are insured under another person’s health insurance policy (for example, parent, spouse, domestic partner or a former spouse), we may also send invoices to the subscriber whose policy covers your health services.
Business Associate
We may provide your PHI to other companies or individuals that need the information to provide services to us. These other entities, known as “business associates,” are required to maintain the privacy and security of PHI. For example, we may provide information to companies that assist us with billing for our services. We may also use an outside collection agency to obtain payment when necessary.
How else can we use or share your health information?
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: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/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 with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
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.
We may also disclose relevant PHI to a family member, friend, or anyone else you designate in order for the person to be involved in your care or payment related to your care or if, in our professional judgment, the disclosure is in your best interest, but you are not present, or you cannot agree or object because you are incapacitated or there is an emergency. We may disclose PHI to those assisting in disaster relief efforts, so that others can be notified about your condition, status and location. We may also use or disclose the health information of an individual who has been deceased for more than 50 years.
Note Regarding State Law
For all the above purposes, when state law is more restrictive than federal law, we are required to follow the more restrictive state law.
Our Responsibilities
This Notice describes our legal duties, privacy practices and your patient rights as determined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information regardless of the form in which we receive it (e.g., oral, written, or recorded in other media).
We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information. Protected health information is stored electronically and is subject to electronic disclosure.
We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this Notice and provide you with this Notice upon request.
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 see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.
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 NOTICE WILL BE DISPLAYED ON OUR WEBSITE AND AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.