Privacy Notice

AvantMeds is committed to protecting the privacy of our customers and have implemented a safe, secure process to ensure privacy protection. AvantMeds will never sell, share, or distribute your personal, medical, or financial information to any third-party other than your assigned AvantMeds Network physician.

Our website utilizes Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) Encryption Technology, which is the latest privacy technology available. Through this technology, all sensitive information is encrypted or scrambled before it is transmitted to or from our website, which renders the information useless to unauthorized parties.

This privacy notice and the privacy practices described here in, notify you of our commitment to protecting private health information, and permitting patients to exercise their rights concerning health information. No legal relationship between any medical personnel and associated companies is created or implied for any other purpose.

Your Health Care Information is Your Personal Information. Information about your health care is private. We must maintain and/or create certain records which contain information about your health.

The law requires that we give you written notice of our privacy practices, and requires that we follow the terms of our privacy notice currently in effect. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes our commitment and the commitment of the medical personnel and pharmacies to the protection and confidentiality of your health information. This notice also describes your rights concerning your health information, including your right to inspect and amend your health information. We are committed to following the law which requires that protected health information is kept private subject to legal requirements which authorize or require its disclosure in limited circumstances.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), provides you with several rights related to your Personal Health Information. These rights are summarized below.

HIPAA requires that we give you this "Notice of Privacy Practices" and make a good faith effort to obtain your acknowledgement that you were given this notice. Upon giving you this Notice, you will be asked to electronically select a checkbox and acknowledge that you received this notice. We appreciate your cooperation in reviewing this notice and in giving us your electronic acknowledgment, which will serve as your signature.

HIPAA also requires that this Notice, at a minimum, cover the following three areas.

• Your rights with respect to your personally identifiable health information.
• How we will use and disclose your personally identifiable health information.
• Our legal duties to protect the confidentiality of your personally identifiable health information.

How We May Use and Disclose Health Information

Unless we have your written authorization, we will not use and/or disclose your protected health information, except under the limited circumstances explained below. We will not disclose protected health information about you for any other reason without your written authorization. If you give us an authorization permitting us to release protected health information, you may revoke the authorization in writing, except to the extent we have already disclosed information pursuant to the authorization.

Disclosures of your Protected Health Information (PHI) may result under normal pharmacy activities. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), requires that this "Notice" describe how we may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI). These uses and disclosures are summarized below. If you would like more information please contact Customer Support at the email address or telephone number on our web site.

1. Health Information is used to allow AvantMeds to schedule your appointment and telephone consultations with one of our physicians. We may use or disclose your protected health information for the purpose of providing treatment to you.
2. Limited Information is used to obtain payment for physician exams and consultations. We obtain payment for our services through your credit card company. The only information we share with your credit card company is your name, billing address and phone number, and credit card number. We do not share any information with your credit card company which discloses the type of medical treatment provided to our customers. All personal and credit card information is submitted using Secure Encryption Technology.
3. Information May Be Used for Health Care Operations. We may use or disclose health care information for our operations. For example, we may use information concerning your scheduled consultations to evaluate the quality of care and services our staff is providing to you. AvantMeds and any contracted medical personnel involved with your care may also disclose health care information to each other as necessary to assist them with providing treatment to you, operating their companies, or to obtain payment.
4. Exams, Consult Reminders and Information about Alternative Treatment. We may use health care information to contact you by e-mail for the purpose of reminding you of your ability to schedule an exam or consultation, or inform you about alternative treatment or other health related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. Please advise Customer Service by e-mail or U.S. mail at the contact address described at the end of this Notice if you do not wish us to contact you concerning exam reminders, consult reminders, treatment alternatives, or other health related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
5. Disclosures as Required by Law. We may use or disclose protected health information if required to do so by federal, state, or local law. The use or disclosure will be made in compliance with the law, and will be limited to the relevant requirements of the law. For example, we may be required to disclose your health information in relation to cases of suspected abuse, neglect, domestic violence or certain physical injuries, or to respond to a subpoena, or order of a court or administrative tribunal.
6. Disclosures for Public Health Activities. We may be required to disclose protected health information for public health activities to a public health authority authorized by law to collect or receive this information, such as the Food and Drug Administration, for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
7. Disclosures to Coroners and Medical Examiners. We may be required to disclose health information about patients who have died to coroners and medical examiners so they may carry out their duties, such as determining the cause of death.
8. Disclosures Concerning Organ Donors. If you are an organ donor, we may be asked to disclose information concerning your health or drugs that were prescribed to organ procurement organizations, eye banks, and other similar organizations for the purpose of facilitating organ, eye or tissue donation and transplants.
9. Disclosures to Avert a Serious Threat to Health. As required by law and standards of ethical conduct, we are permitted to release your health information to the proper authorities if we believe, in good faith, that such release is necessary to prevent or minimize a serious and imminent threat to your, the public's, or another individual's health or safety.
10. Disclosures for Health Oversight Activities. We are permitted to disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for monitoring and oversight activities authorized by law. This might include release of information to the state agency that licenses pharmacies for the purpose of monitoring or inspecting pharmacies related to that license.
11. Disclosures for Workers Compensation Purposes. We may be required to release protected health information about you to the extent necessary to follow the laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs that provide benefits for work related injuries or illness.
12. Disclosures to Business Associates. We may request certain businesses to assist us with our health care operations. In the event it is necessary to disclose protected health information pertaining to our customers to these business associates, we will enter into written contracts with them requiring that they keep protected health information private and secure.

Your Rights Pertaining to Your Health Care Information

1. The Right to Request Confidential Communications. We will communicate with our customers by e-mail or telephone using the information you provide to us. You have the right to request that we communicate with you in a certain way or at a certain location. To request we communicate with you to a specific location, or in a particular manner, please contact Customer Service. We will accommodate all reasonable requests.
2. Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request restrictions on how your health information is used or to whom your information is disclosed, even if the restriction affects your treatment, our payment, or health care operation activities. However, we are not required to agree to your requested restriction and, even if we agree to the requested restriction, we are permitted to use your information without complying with the restriction if necessary to treat you in an emergency situation. To request a restriction, please contact Customer Service.
3. Right to Inspect and Obtain a Copy of Your Health Information. You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of health information that we maintain about you. This includes health records and billing records. To inspect or request a copy of your health information, please contact Customer Service, specifying the records you would like to inspect or to have us copy for you. If you request a copy of the records, we may charge a fee for the cost of copying, mailing, or services associated with your request. In certain very limited circumstances, the law provides that we may deny your request to inspect or copy these records. If you are denied access to health information, you may request that the denial be reviewed by a licensed health care professional chosen by us who did not participate in the original decision to deny your access to review your request and the reasons for the denial.
4. Right to Request an Amendment to Your Health Information. If you believe the health information within your medical record is incorrect, you may ask us to amend the information. Please submit such requests in writing by e-mail or U.S. mail to Customer Service at the address listed below. Include the requested amendment along with a reason you believe your health information should be amended. We are not required to honor your request if we did not create the information you are requesting be amended or if the information in your record is correct. We will respond to your request in writing within 30 days of the date of receipt of your written request for amendment of your information, unless we advise you we require an additional 30 days.
5. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request a list accounting for any disclosures of your protected health information we have made, except for uses and disclosures for a) treatment, payment, and health care operations, b) disclosures to you, c) disclosures pursuant to your authorization, and d) disclosures for certain other limited reasons specified by law. To request a list of disclosures, please contact contact Customer Service by e-mail or U.S. mail at the address listed below. Your request must state a time period which may not be longer than six years, and may not include dates before January 1, 2006. The first list you request within a 12 month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will mail you a list of disclosures within 30 days of your request, unless we advise you we require a period of up to an additional 30 days to comply with your request.
6. Right to a Paper Copy of this Notice. You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this notice at any time. To obtain a paper copy, please request it from Customer Service at the address listed below. You may also view and print a copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices at http://www.AvantMeds.com.
7. Effective Date. This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective on January 20, 2009; and pertains to all protected health information we maintain.
8. Changes to this Notice. We reserve the right to change this notice, and we may make the revised or changed notice effective for all protected health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice on our website. The notice will contain an effective date. In addition, each time you request medical services from us, our current Notice of Privacy Practices will be available to you. Our current Notice of Privacy Practices may be viewed on the AvantMeds website and may be obtained by requesting it by telephone, by e-mail, or in writing from Customer Service.
9. Complaints. We are committed to safeguarding your protected health information. Despite our good faith efforts, questions, concerns, mistakes, and misunderstandings may arise. If you have a concern or believe that we may have violated your privacy rights, we encourage you to bring that to our attention.
   • You may bring any complaints or concerns regarding your privacy rights to our attention by calling our corporate offices and requesting to speak with an authorized representative. If you prefer, you may submit a complaint by e-mail to customerservice@AvantMeds.com. You also may complain to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services or his or her authorized representative if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.
   • We take all concerns and complaints very seriously and will investigate each one immediately. If a mistake is made by us, we will do what we can to correct it and take steps to prevent mistakes in the future. Under no circumstances will we retaliate against you for expressing a concern or filing a complaint relating to your privacy rights.
10. Privacy Contact Person. If you have any questions about this notice or wish to exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact Customer Service., or an authorized representative by calling our corporate offices at the number on the contact page.
11. Acknowledgment of Receipt of this Notice. We will request you electronically acknowledge you have received a copy of this notice when you first request that we provide services to you by checking a box acknowledging your receipt of this Notice of Privacy Practices. Please check this box only if you have received, read and agree to this Notice.