Privacy Policy

Notice of Privacy Practices

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.

East Cascade Women’s Group respects your privacy. We understand that your personal health information is very sensitive. The law protects the privacy of the health information we create and obtain in providing care and services to you. Your protected health information includes your symptoms, test results, diagnoses, treatment, health information from other providers, and billing and payment information relating to these services.

We will not use or disclose your health information to others without your authorization, except as described in this Notice, or as required by law.

1) Your health information rights.

The health and billing records we create and store are the property of East Cascade Women’s Group. The protected health information in it, however, generally belongs to you. You have a right to:

    •  Receive, read, and ask questions about this Notice.
    • Ask us to restrict certain uses and disclosures. You must deliver this request in writing to us. We arenot required to grant the request unless the request is to restrict disclosure of your protected health information to a health plan for payment or health care operations and the protected health information is about an item or service for which you paid in full directly.
    • Request and receive from us a paper copy of the most current Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”).
    • Request that you be allowed to see and get a copy of your protected health information. You maymake this request in writing. We have a form available for this type of request.
    • Have us review a denial of access to your health information—except in certain circumstances.
    • Ask us to change your health information that is inaccurate or incomplete. You may give us thisrequest in writing. You may write a statement of disagreement if your request is denied. It will bestored in your medical record, and included with any release of your records.
    • When you request, we will give you a list of certain disclosures of your health information. The listwill not include disclosures for treatment, payment, or health care operations. You may receive this information without charge once every 12 months. We will notify you of the cost involved if you request this information more than once in 12 months.
    • Ask that your health information be given to you by another confidential means of communication or at another location. Please sign, date, and give us your request in writing.
    • Cancel prior authorizations to use or disclose health information by giving us a written revocation. Your revocation does not affect information that has already been released. It also does not affect any action taken before we receive the revocation. Sometimes, you cannot cancel an authorization if its purpose was to obtain insurance.

For help with these rights during normal business hours, please contact:Karla Becker 541-389-3300 Ext: 623

2) Our responsibilities.

We are required to:

  • Keep your protected health information private.
  • Give you this Notice.
  • Follow the terms of this Notice for as long as it is in effect.
  • Notify you if we become aware of a breach of your unsecured protected health information.

 

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice, and to make the new privacy practices and notice provisions effective for all of the protected health information we maintain. If we make material changes, we will update and make available to you the revised Notice upon request. You may receive the most recent copy of this Notice by calling and asking for it, by visiting our office to pick one up, or by visiting our Web site at www.ecwg.net.

3) To ask for help or complain.

If you have questions, want more information, or want to report a problem about the handling of your protected health information, you may contact:

Karla Becker:  541-389-3300 Ext: 623

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may discuss your concerns with any staff member. You may also deliver a written complaint to Karla Becker, Privacy Official at East Cascade Women’s Group. You may also file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR).We respect your right to file a complaint with us or with the OCR. If you complain, we will not retaliate against you.

4) How we may use and disclose your protected health information.

Under the law, we may use or disclose your protected health information under certain circumstances without your permission. The following categories describe the different ways we may use and disclose your protected health information without your permission. For each category, we will explain what we mean and give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose health information will fall within one of the categories.

Below are examples of uses and disclosures of protected health information for treatment, payment, and health care operations.

For treatment:

  • We may contact you to remind you about appointments.
  • We may use and disclose your health information to give you information about treatmentalternatives or other health-related benefits and services.
  • Information obtained by a nurse, physician, or other member of our health care team will berecorded in your medical record and used by members of our health care team to help decide whatcare may be right for you.
  • We may also provide information to health care providers outside our practice who are providingyou care or for a referral. This will help them stay informed about your care.

For payment:

  • We request payment from your health insurance plan. Health plans need information from us about your medical care. Information provided to health plans may include your diagnoses, procedures performed, or recommended care.
  • We bill you or the person you tell us is responsible for paying for your care if it is not covered by your health insurance plan.

For health care operations:

  • We may use your medical records to assess quality and improve services.
  • We may use and disclose medical records to review the qualifications and performance of our healthcare providers and to train our staff.
  • We may use and disclose your information to conduct or arrange for services, including:
    • Medical quality review by your health plan,
    • Accounting, legal, risk management, and insurance services; and
    • Audit functions, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance programs

For fund-raising communications:

  • We may use certain demographic information and other health care service and health insurance status information about you to contact you to raise funds. If we contact you for fund-raising, we will also provide you with a way to opt out of receiving fund-raising requests in the future.

Some of the other ways that we may use or disclose your protected health information without your authorization are as follows.

  • Required by law: We must make any disclosure required by state, federal, or local law.
  • Business Associates: We contract with individuals and entities to perform jobs for us or to providecertain types of services that may require them to create, maintain, use, and/or disclose your health information. We may disclose your health information to a business associate, but only after they agree in writing to safeguard your health information. Examples include billing services, accountants, and others who perform health care operations for us.
  • Notification of family and others: Unless you object, we may release health information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care. We may tell your family or friends your condition and that you are in a hospital.
  • Public health and safety purposes: As permitted or required by law, we may disclose protected health information:
    • To prevent or reduce a serious, immediate threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.
    • To public health or legal authorities:
      • To protect public health and safety.
      • To prevent or control disease, injury, or disability.
      • To report vital statistics such as births or deaths.
      • To report suspected abuse or neglect to public authorities.
  • Research: We may disclose protected health information to researchers if the research has been approved by an institutional review board or a privacy board and there are policies to protect the privacy of your health information. We may also share information with medical researchers preparing to conduct a research project.
  • Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors: We may disclose protected health information to funeral directors and coroners consistent with applicable law to allow them to carry out their duties.
  • Organ-procurement organizations: Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose protected health information to organ-procurement organizations (tissue donation and transplant) or persons who obtain, store, or transplant organs.
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA): For problems with food, supplements, and products, we may disclose protected health information to the FDA or entities subject to the jurisdiction of the FDA.
  • Workplace injury or illness: Washington State law requires the disclosure of protected health information to the Department of Labor and Industries, the employer, and the payer (including a self- insured payer) for workers’ compensation and for crime victims’ claims. We also may disclose protected health information for work-related conditions that could affect employee health; for example, an employer may ask us to assess health risks on a job site.
  • Correctional institutions: If you are in jail or prison, we may disclose your protected healthinformation as necessary for your health and the health and safety of others.
  • Law enforcement: We may disclose protected health information to law enforcement officials asrequired by law, such as reports of certain types of injuries or victims of a crime, or when we receivea warrant, subpoena, court order, or other legal process.
  • Government health and safety oversight activities: We may disclose protected health information toan oversight agency that may be conducting an investigation. For example, we may share health information with the Department of Health.
  • Disaster relief: We may share protected health information with disaster relief agencies to assist innotification of your condition to family or others.
  • Military, Veteran, and Department of State: We may disclose protected health information to themilitary authorities of U.S. and foreign military personnel; for example, the law may require us toprovide information necessary to a military mission.
  • Lawsuits and disputes: We are permitted to disclose protected health information in the course ofjudicial/administrative proceedings at your request, or as directed by a subpoena or court order.
  • National Security: We are permitted to release protected health information to federal officials fornational security purposes authorized by law.
  • De-identifying information: We may use your protected health information by removing anyinformation that could be used to identify you.

5) Uses and disclosures that require your authorization.

Certain uses and disclosures of your health information require your written authorization. The following list contains the types of uses and disclosures that require your written authorization:

  • Psychotherapy Notes: if we record or maintain psychotherapy notes, we must obtain your authorization for most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes.
  • Marketing Communications: we must obtain your authorization to use or disclose your health information for marketing purposes other than for face to face communications with you, promotional gifts of nominal value, and communications with you related to currently prescribed drugs, such as refill reminders.
  • Sale of Health Information: disclosures that constitute a sale of your health information require your authorization.

In addition, other uses and disclosures of your health information that are not described in this Notice will be made only with your written authorization. You have the right to cancel prior authorizations for these uses and disclosures of your health information by giving us a written revocation. Your revocation does not affect information that has already been released. It also does not affect any action taken before we receive the revocation. Sometimes, you cannot cancel an authorization if its purpose was to obtain insurance.

6) Web site

We have a Web site that provides information about us. For your benefit, this Notice is on the Web site at the following address: www.ecwg.net.

7) Effective date
This Notice is effective as of August 15, 2013.

Cookies

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are and how we use them, the types of cookies we use i.e, the information we collect using cookies and how that information is used, and how to control the cookie preferences. For further information on how we use, store, and keep your personal data secure, see our Privacy Policy above.

By visiting our website, you are agreeing to accept our cookie policy.

Your consent applies to the following domains: Ecwg.com

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are used to store small pieces of information. They are stored on your device when the website is loaded on your browser. These cookies help us make the website function properly, make it more secure, provide better user experience, and understand how the website performs and to analyze what works and where it needs improvement.

How We Use Cookies

As most of the online services, our website uses first-party and third-party cookies for several purposes. First-party cookies are mostly necessary for the website to function the right way, and they do not collect any of your personally identifiable data.

The third-party cookies used on our website are mainly for understanding how the website performs, how you interact with our website, keeping our services secure, providing advertisements that are relevant to you, and all in all providing you with a better and improved user experience and help speed up your future interactions with our website.

What Cookies We Use

Essential: Some cookies are essential for you to be able to experience the full functionality of our site. They allow us to maintain user sessions and prevent any security threats. They do not collect or store any personal information. For example, these cookies allow you to log-in to your account and add products to your basket, and checkout securely.

Statistics: These cookies store information like the number of visitors to the website, the number of unique visitors, which pages of the website have been visited, the source of the visit, etc. These data help us understand and analyze how well the website performs and where it needs improvement.

Marketing: Our website displays advertisements. These cookies are used to personalize the advertisements that we show to you so that they are meaningful to you. These cookies also help us keep track of the efficiency of these ad campaigns.

The information stored in these cookies may also be used by the third-party ad providers to show you ads on other websites on the browser as well.

Functional: These are the cookies that help certain non-essential functionalities on our website. These functionalities include embedding content like videos or sharing content of the website on social media platforms.

Preferences: These cookies help us store your settings and browsing preferences like language preferences so that you have a better and efficient experience on future visits to the website.

LIST OF COOKIES ONCE SITE IS LIVE

Withdrawing Cookie Consent

By visiting our website you are agreeing to accept the cookies listed above.

Opting out will need to be done through your browser.  Different browsers provide different methods to block and delete cookies used by websites. You can change the settings of your browser to block/delete the cookies. To find out more about how to manage and delete cookies, visit wikipedia.org, www.allaboutcookies.org.