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.
Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.
This Notice of Privacy Practices (the “Notice”) describes how LifeMD, Inc. (“we,” “us,” or “our”) may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or business operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law.
Protected Health Information“Protected health information” or “PHI” is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical health or condition, treatment or payment for health care services. Under federal law, your patient health information is protected and confidential.
How We Use Your Patient Health InformationWe use Health Information about you for Treatment, to obtain Payment, and for Health Care Operations, including administrative purposes and evaluation of the quality of care that you receive. Under some circumstances, we may be required to use or disclose the information even without your permission.
Treatment |
We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your health care with a third party. For example, your protected health information may be provided to a health care provider to whom you have been referred to ensure the necessary information is accessible to diagnose or treat you. |
Payment |
Your protected health information may be used to bill or obtain payment for your health care services. This may include certain activities that your health insurance plan may undertake before it approves or pays for your services, such as: making a determination of eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits and reviewing services provided to you for medical necessity. |
Healthcare Operations |
We may use or disclose, as needed, your protected health information in order to support the business activities of this office. These activities include, but are not limited to, improving quality of care, providing information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services, development or maintaining and supporting computer systems, legal services, and conducting audits and compliance programs, including fraud, waste and abuse investigations. |
Uses and Disclosures That Require Your Authorization:
Uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, uses and disclosures of medical information for marketing purposes, and disclosures that constitute a sale of medical information will only be made with your written authorization. There may be other uses and disclosures of your PHI beyond those listed that may require your authorization if the use or disclosure is not permitted or required by law. If you provide us with an authorization for certain uses and disclosures of your information, you may revoke such authorization, at any time, in writing, except to the extent that we have taken an action in reliance on the use or disclosure indicated in the authorization.
Uses and Disclosures That Do NOT Require Your Authorization:Public Health Activities |
As Required by Law, we may disclose vital statistics, diseases, information related to recalls of dangerous products, and similar information to public health authorities. |
Health Oversight |
We may be required to disclose information to assist in investigations and audits, eligibility for government programs, and similar activities. |
Health Information Exchange |
We may participate in certain health information exchanges whereby we may disclose your health information, as permitted by law, to other health care providers or entities for treatment. |
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings |
We may disclose information in response to an appropriate subpoena or court order. |
Law Enforcement Purposes |
Subject to certain restrictions, we may disclose information required by Law Enforcement Officials. |
Deaths |
We may report information regarding deaths to coroners, medical examiners, funeral directors, and organ donation agencies. |
Serious Threat to Health or Safety: |
We may use and disclose information when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. |
Military and Special Government Functions |
If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release information as required by military command authorities. We may also disclose information to Correctional Institutions or for national security purposes. |
Research |
We may use or disclose information for approved medical research. |
Workers Compensation |
We may release information about you to workers compensation agencies and your employer to provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness. |
Fundraising |
We may contact you, or allow an institutionally-related foundation to contact you, for fundraising purposes. You have the right to opt out of receiving any fundraising communications. |
De-identified Health Information |
We may use or sell de-identified health information to support our business operations. If we do, we will remove information that directly identifies you. We do not sell Protected Health Information. |
Business Associates |
We may disclose PHI to a Business Associate which is an entity or person that performs activities or services on our behalf that involve the use, disclosure, access, creation, or storage of PHI. We require a Business Associate to execute appropriate agreements before they initiate these activities or services. |
Your Rights With Respect to Your Protected Health Information
You have the following rights with regard to your Health Information. You can exercise these rights by submitting a written request to us - the contact information is at the end of this notice.
Request a Copy of PHI |
You can request to see or get a copy of your PHI contained in a designated record set. We can deny your request in some situations. We will explain the reason for the denial in the response we send you and you have a right to have this decision reviewed. |
Amend Your PHI |
If you believe that information in your record is incorrect, or if important information is missing, you have the right to request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. |
Request Confidential Communications |
You may ask us to communicate with you confidentially by, for example, sending notices to a special address or not using postcards to remind you of appointments. We will comply with all reasonable requests submitted in writing which specify how or where you wish to receive these communications. |
Request a Restriction |
You can request that we do not share or use some of your PHI for purposes of treatment, payment and our operations. Your request must be in writing and state the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply. We are not required to agree to a restriction that you may request, except if the requested restriction is on a disclosure to a health plan for a payment or health care operations purpose regarding a service that has been paid in full out-of-pocket. |
Accounting of Disclosures |
You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures of your protected health information that we have made, paper or electronic, except for certain disclosures which were pursuant to an authorization, for purposes of treatment, payment, healthcare operations (unless the information is maintained in an electronic health record); or for certain other purposes. |
Request a Copy of this Notice |
You can request a copy of this notice at any time. |
File a Complaint |
You can file a complaint directly with us if you believe we have violated your privacy rights by using the contact information at the end of this notice. You can also file a complaint with the Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by calling 1-877-696-6775; or by visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complains/ or by sending a letter to them at 200 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. 20201. We will not retaliate against you in any way for filing a complaint. |
Our Responsibilities
We are required by Law to protect and maintain the privacy of your PHI, to provide this Notice about our legal duties and privacy practices regarding PHI, to notify you of any breach of your PHI that we are required by law to report, and to abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect.
Revisions to this NoticeWe reserve the right to revise this Notice and to make the revised Notice effective for protected health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. Any significant changes to this Notice will be communicated to you electronically. The new notice will be available upon request and on our website https://lifemd.com/.
Contact PersonIf you have any questions about this Notice, please contact us at [email protected] or at 1-800-660-3548 and ask to speak with our HIPAA Privacy Officer.
