Privacy Notice
The following contract terms are intended to specify Village Eye Care's obligations to you, our patient, under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Under HIPAA health care providers have certain obligations to protect information about their patients. This kind of information is called Protected Health Information. These obligations are spelled out in regulations issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
These provisions are intended to be interpreted consistently with HIPAA and all regulations issued by HHS under it. They are also intended to incorporate by reference all other terms and conditions and agreements, which apply to the Services.
Village Eye Care will only use or disclose Protected Health Information it obtains from you or on your behalf (a) for purposes of providing the Services to you, (b) if needed for Village Eye Care's internal management and administrative needs related to its provision of the Services, or (c) if needed to fulfill Village Eye Care's legal obligations.
Village Eye Care will not use or disclose Protected Health Information it obtains from you or on your behalf for any other activity or purpose, unless you have authorized Village Eye Care to do so in writing and such use or disclosure is otherwise permitted by law.
Village Eye Care will establish and maintain policies, procedures and technical solutions which it determines are reasonably necessary to protect any Protected Health Information it obtains from you or on your behalf.
If Village Eye Care becomes aware of any use or disclosure of Protected Health Information obtained from you or on your behalf which is not authorized, Village Eye Care will take such action as it determines is reasonably necessary to stop such use or disclosure, prevent its recurrence, and mitigate any harm it may have caused. Village Eye Care will also report any such unauthorized use or disclosure to you.
If Village Eye Care contracts with or otherwise uses any other person to process, transmit, store or otherwise use or disclose Protected Health Information obtained from or on behalf of you, Village Eye Care shall ensure that person agrees to protect that information and not to use or disclose that information in any way which is not authorized as provided in this section.
You, our patient, may request to review or copy Protected Health Information which Village Eye Care has obtained. This must be a written request.
You, our patient, may request to amend your Protected Health Information which has been obtained by Village Eye Care. Village Eye Care will add that amendment to its own records of that Protected Health Information upon your written request to our Privacy Officer. If necessary Village Eye Care will notify any other person to which Village Eye Care has disclosed such information of the amendment. However, amendments cannot be made to previously submitted claims, or lab and product orders
You, our patient, may request an accounting of disclosures of your Protected Health Information.
Under HIPAA, HHS may from time to time investigate the compliance of any health care provider with the HIPAA regulations. If Village Eye Care becomes the subject of such an investigation, Village Eye Care will make its internal practices, books and records concerning its use and disclosure of Protected Health Information obtained from you or on your behalf available to HHS, at reasonable times and places and upon proper evidence of the investigator's legal authority.
You may terminate your use of Village Eye Care's Services at any time if you are not satisfied with Village Eye Care's HIPAA compliance.
If you terminate your use of the Services for any reason, Village Eye Care will stop using and disclosing all Protected Health Information it has obtained from you or on your behalf, except in order to (a) complete any transactions or services which had not been completed as of the termination, or (b) if needed as evidence in regulatory or law enforcement investigative or enforcement proceedings, and administrative or judicial proceedings pertaining to Village Eye Care's compliance with these provisions, and/or any individual(s) to whom the Protected Health Information pertains.
These provisions are intended to be interpreted consistently with HIPAA and all regulations issued by HHS under it. They are also intended to incorporate by reference all other terms and conditions and agreements, which apply to the Services.
Village Eye Care will only use or disclose Protected Health Information it obtains from you or on your behalf (a) for purposes of providing the Services to you, (b) if needed for Village Eye Care's internal management and administrative needs related to its provision of the Services, or (c) if needed to fulfill Village Eye Care's legal obligations.
Village Eye Care will not use or disclose Protected Health Information it obtains from you or on your behalf for any other activity or purpose, unless you have authorized Village Eye Care to do so in writing and such use or disclosure is otherwise permitted by law.
Village Eye Care will establish and maintain policies, procedures and technical solutions which it determines are reasonably necessary to protect any Protected Health Information it obtains from you or on your behalf.
If Village Eye Care becomes aware of any use or disclosure of Protected Health Information obtained from you or on your behalf which is not authorized, Village Eye Care will take such action as it determines is reasonably necessary to stop such use or disclosure, prevent its recurrence, and mitigate any harm it may have caused. Village Eye Care will also report any such unauthorized use or disclosure to you.
If Village Eye Care contracts with or otherwise uses any other person to process, transmit, store or otherwise use or disclose Protected Health Information obtained from or on behalf of you, Village Eye Care shall ensure that person agrees to protect that information and not to use or disclose that information in any way which is not authorized as provided in this section.
You, our patient, may request to review or copy Protected Health Information which Village Eye Care has obtained. This must be a written request.
You, our patient, may request to amend your Protected Health Information which has been obtained by Village Eye Care. Village Eye Care will add that amendment to its own records of that Protected Health Information upon your written request to our Privacy Officer. If necessary Village Eye Care will notify any other person to which Village Eye Care has disclosed such information of the amendment. However, amendments cannot be made to previously submitted claims, or lab and product orders
You, our patient, may request an accounting of disclosures of your Protected Health Information.
Under HIPAA, HHS may from time to time investigate the compliance of any health care provider with the HIPAA regulations. If Village Eye Care becomes the subject of such an investigation, Village Eye Care will make its internal practices, books and records concerning its use and disclosure of Protected Health Information obtained from you or on your behalf available to HHS, at reasonable times and places and upon proper evidence of the investigator's legal authority.
You may terminate your use of Village Eye Care's Services at any time if you are not satisfied with Village Eye Care's HIPAA compliance.
If you terminate your use of the Services for any reason, Village Eye Care will stop using and disclosing all Protected Health Information it has obtained from you or on your behalf, except in order to (a) complete any transactions or services which had not been completed as of the termination, or (b) if needed as evidence in regulatory or law enforcement investigative or enforcement proceedings, and administrative or judicial proceedings pertaining to Village Eye Care's compliance with these provisions, and/or any individual(s) to whom the Protected Health Information pertains.