HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
THIS HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES (“NOTICE”) DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU MAY GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
We are required by law to protect the privacy of health information that may reveal your identity, and to provide you with a copy of this Notice which describes the health information privacy practices of hear.com.
If you have any questions about this Notice or would like further information, please contact us at:
hear.com LLC
Attention: Patrick Sendowski
396 Alhambra Circle, Suite 600
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
[email protected]
How we may use and disclose your health information
There are some situations where we do not need your written authorization before using your health information or sharing it with others. They are:
Treatment. We may use and disclose protected health information about you, including hearing test findings, in order to ensure that you receive proper medical treatment. For example, we may share your protected health information to another physician, audiologist, or health care provider involved in your care.
Payment. We may use your health information or share it with others so that we may obtain payment for your health care services. For example, we may share information about you with your health insurance company in order to obtain reimbursement after we have treated you. In some cases, we may share information about you with your health insurance company to determine whether it will cover your treatment.
Health Care Operations. We may use your health information or share it with others in order to conduct our business operations. For example, we may use your medical information to review our treatment of you and the services we provided and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. Also, we may need to discuss your medical information with companies and individuals necessary to complete orders for hearing care devices and for the purpose of consultation and recommendation of said devices.
Appointment Reminders. In the course of providing treatment to you, we may use your health information to contact you with a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or services.
Additional Services. We may also use your health information in order to recommend possible treatment alternatives or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
Business Associates. We may disclose your health information to contractors, agents and other business associates who need the information in order to assist us with obtaining payment or carrying out our business operations. For example, we may provide your name, address, and other health information to a company that helps us mail important health communications to you. If we do disclose your health information to a business associate, we will have a written contract with our business associate that ensures that our business associate also protects the privacy and security of your health information.
As Required By Law. We may use or disclose your health information if we are required by law to do so. We also will notify you of these uses and disclosures if notice is required by law.
Workers’ Compensation. We may disclose your health information for workers’ compensation or similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries.
Public Health Activities. We may disclose your health information to authorized public health officials (or a foreign government agency collaborating with such officials) so they may carry out their public health activities under law, such as controlling disease or public health hazards. We may also disclose your health information to a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or be at risk for contracting or spreading the disease if the law permits us to do so. We may also release your health information to government disease registries.
Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence. We may release your health information to a public health authority that is authorized to receive reports of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
Health Oversight Activities. We may release your health information to government agencies authorized to conduct audits, investigations, and inspections of hear.com. These government agencies monitor the operation of the health care system, government benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and compliance with government regulatory programs and civil rights laws.
Product Monitoring, Repair and Recall. We may disclose your health information to a person or company that is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration for the purpose of: (1) reporting or tracking product defects or problems; (2) repairing, replacing, or recalling defective or dangerous products; or (3) monitoring the performance of a product after it has been approved for use by the general public.
Lawsuits and Disputes. We may disclose your health information if we are ordered to do so by a court or administrative tribunal that is handling a lawsuit or other dispute. We may also disclose your information in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful request by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain a court order protecting the information from further disclosure and only with a written certification by the party issuing the subpoena in accordance with law.
Law Enforcement. We may disclose your health information to law enforcement officials for certain reasons, such as complying with court orders, assisting in the identification of fugitives or the location of missing persons, or if necessary to report a crime that occurred on our property.
To Avert a Serious and Imminent Threat To Health or Safety. We may use your health information or share it with others when necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety, or the health or safety of another person or the public. In such cases, we will only share your information with someone able to help prevent the threat. We may also disclose your health information to law enforcement officers if you tell us that you participated in a violent crime that may have caused serious physical harm to another person, or if we determine that you escaped from lawful custody (such as a prison or mental health institution).
National Security and Intelligence Activities or Protective Services. We may disclose your health information to authorized federal officials who are conducting national security and intelligence activities or providing protective services to the President or other important officials.
Military and Veterans. If you are in the Armed Forces, we may disclose health information about you to appropriate military command authorities for activities they deem necessary to carry out their military mission. We may also release health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.
Inmates and Correctional Institutions. If you are an inmate or you are detained by a law enforcement officer, we may disclose your health information to the prison officers or law enforcement officers if necessary to provide you with health care, or to maintain safety, security, and good order at the place where you are confined. This includes sharing information that is necessary to protect the health and safety of other inmates or persons involved in supervising or transporting inmates.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors. In the unfortunate event of your death, we may disclose your health information to a coroner or medical examiner. We may also release this information to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties consistent with applicable law.
Organ and Tissue Donation. In the unfortunate event of your death, if you are an organ donor we will disclose your health information to organizations involved in organ donation, organ and tissue procurement and transplantation, as necessary to facilitate organ, tissue, or eye donation and transplantation.
DISCLOSURES WITH YOUR AUTHORIZATION. We must obtain your written authorization to use or disclose health information in those situations not otherwise described in this Notice. If you do authorize us to use or disclose your medical information, you have the right to revoke that authorization at any time.
Your rights to access and control your health information
We want you to know that you have the following rights to access and control your health information.
- Right To Inspect and Copy Records. You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of any of your health information that may be used to make decisions about you and your treatment for as long as we maintain this information in our records. This includes medical and billing records. To inspect or obtain a copy of your health information, please submit your request in writing to us as at the address mentioned on top of this Notice. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies we use to fulfill your request. Under certain very limited circumstances, we may deny your request to inspect or obtain a copy of your information. If we do, we will provide a written denial that explains our reasons for doing so, and a complete description of your rights to have that decision reviewed and how you can exercise those rights.
- Right to Amend Records. If you believe that the health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information for as long as the information is kept in our records. To request an amendment, please write us at the address mentioned on top of this Notice. Your request should include the reasons why you think we should make the amendment. If we deny part or all of your request, we will provide a written notice that explains our reasons for doing so. You will have the right to have certain information related to your requested amendment included in your records.
- Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have a right to request an “accounting of disclosures,” which identifies certain other persons or organizations to whom we have disclosed your health information in accordance with applicable law and the protections afforded in this Notice. Many routine disclosures we make will not be included in this accounting; however, the accounting will include many non-routine disclosures. To request an accounting of disclosures, please write us at the address mentioned on top of this Notice and indicate a time period within the past six years for the disclosures you want us to include. You have a right to receive one accounting within every twelve month period for free. However, we may charge you for the cost of providing any additional accounting in that same twelve month period.
- Right to Request Additional Privacy Protections. You have the right to request that we further restrict the way we use and disclose your health information to treat your condition, collect payment for that treatment, or run our business operations. You may also request that we limit how we disclose information about you to family or friends involved in your care. To request restrictions, please write us at the address mentioned on top of this Notice. We are not required to agree to your request for a restriction, and in some cases the restriction you request may not be permitted under law. However, if we do agree, we will be bound by our agreement unless the information is needed to provide you with emergency treatment or comply with the law. Once we have agreed to a restriction, you have the right to revoke the restriction at any time. Under some circumstances, we will also have the right to revoke the restriction as long as we notify you before doing so. In other cases, we will need your permission before we can revoke the restriction. You have the right to restrict certain disclosures of protected health information to a health plan where you pay, or someone has paid on your behalf out of pocket and in full. You have the right to revoke the restriction at any time.
- Right to Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to request that we contact you about your medical matters in a way that is more confidential for you, such as calling you at home instead of at work. To request more confidential communications, please write us at the address mentioned on top of this Notice. We will not ask you the reason for your request, and we will try to accommodate all reasonable requests.
- Right to Have Someone Act On Your Behalf. You have the right to name a personal representative who may act on your behalf to control the privacy of your health information. Parents and guardians will generally have the right to control the privacy of health information about minors unless the minors are permitted by law to act on their own behalf.
- Right to Be Notified Following a Breach of Unsecured PHI. If you are affected by a breach of your unsecured protected health information, you have the right to, and will, receive notice of such breach.
- Right to File A Complaint. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with us, please contact us at the address mentioned on top of this Notice. No one will retaliate or take action against you for filing a complaint.
- Right to Obtain a Copy of Notices. If this Notice is provided electronically, you have the right to a paper copy of this Notice at any time, which you may request from hear.com at the address above or obtain from the hear.com website at hear.com/hipaa-notice-of-privacy-practices/.
- Future Changes to Notice. We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and this Notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed Notice effective for health information we already have about you, as well as information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current Notice on the hear.com website at hear.com/hipaa-notice-of-privacy-practices/. In addition, you may request a copy of the Notice currently in effect at the address above at any time.
Effective Date: 11/23/2021
