Choice One Rx is required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information ("PHI"), to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.
What is protected health information?
PHI is information about you, including basic identifying details, that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health, the health care you receive, or payment for that care. For a pharmacy this includes your name, date of birth, address, insurance details, prescriptions, diagnoses, and the record of what we dispensed to you.
How we may use and disclose your information without your authorization
For treatment
We use your PHI to dispense medication and provide pharmacy care. We may disclose it to your prescriber, your nurse, another pharmacy, a hospital, or other providers involved in your care — for example, contacting your physician about a drug interaction or coordinating an infusion nursing visit.
For payment
We may use and disclose your PHI to bill and collect payment from you, your health plan, or a third party. This includes verifying benefits, obtaining prior authorization, submitting claims, and appealing denials.
For health care operations
We may use your PHI for our business operations — quality assessment, staff review, accreditation, licensing, audits, and general administration.
Other permitted or required disclosures
- When required by federal, state, or local law
- To public health authorities, including reporting adverse drug events and product recalls to the FDA
- To report suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence as required or permitted by law
- For health oversight activities such as audits, inspections, and licensure actions
- In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, or other lawful process
- To law enforcement in the limited circumstances permitted by law
- To coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors as permitted by law
- For organ and tissue donation purposes
- To avert a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public
- For specialized government functions, including military and national security activities
- For workers’ compensation as authorized by law
- For research, where an institutional review board has approved a waiver of authorization
- To a business associate that performs services for us, under a written contract requiring them to protect your information
Disclosures to family, friends, and caregivers
We may disclose PHI to a family member, relative, close friend, or caregiver who is involved in your care or in payment for your care, or to notify them of your location or condition. Where you are present and able to make decisions, we will give you the opportunity to object. Where you are not, we will use professional judgment to determine whether the disclosure is in your best interest. We may also disclose your PHI to a disaster relief organization so your family can be notified.
Refill reminders and health-related communications
We may contact you about refills, your therapy, treatment alternatives, or other health-related benefits and services. We may also contact you to remind you of an appointment or a scheduled delivery.
Uses and disclosures that require your written authorization
The following always require your written authorization, and you may revoke that authorization at any time in writing:
- Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes
- Uses and disclosures for marketing purposes
- Disclosures that constitute a sale of your protected health information
- Most disclosures of substance use disorder treatment records protected under 42 CFR Part 2
- Any other use or disclosure not described in this notice
A revocation will not apply to disclosures we already made in reliance on your authorization.
Your rights
Right to inspect and copy
You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI held in our records, including an electronic copy where we maintain it electronically. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee. In limited circumstances we may deny a request, and some denials are subject to review.
Right to amend
If you believe information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend it. We may deny the request if the information was not created by us, is not part of the records we keep, is not information you would be permitted to inspect, or is accurate and complete. You may submit a statement of disagreement.
Right to an accounting of disclosures
You may request a list of disclosures we made of your PHI, other than disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other exceptions. The accounting covers up to six years before your request.
Right to request restrictions
You may ask us to restrict how we use or disclose your PHI. We are not required to agree, except in one case: if you pay for a prescription in full out of pocket and ask us not to disclose that information to your health plan for payment or operations purposes, we must comply.
Right to confidential communications
You may ask us to communicate with you in a particular way or at a particular location — for example, only at a specific phone number, or by mail to a different address. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
Right to a paper copy of this notice
You may request a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
Right to be notified of a breach
We will notify you if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
Right to choose someone to act for you
If you have given someone medical power of attorney, or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will verify that authority before taking any action.
Our duties
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your PHI.
- We must notify you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised your information.
- We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
- We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us in writing that we may.
We reserve the right to change this notice and to make the revised notice effective for information we already have as well as information we receive in the future. The current notice will be posted at choiceonerx.com and available at the pharmacy.
How to exercise your rights or make a complaint
To exercise any right above, or to raise a privacy concern, contact our Privacy Officer:
You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, at 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20201, by calling 1-877-696-6775, or at hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints.