Privacy Policy
We realize that our clients are concerned about the privacy of the information that we might collect from them. We are providing you this privacy notice to help you understand how we handle the personal information about you that we collect. Our objective is to gather information about you that you want us to have, and that we only use this information after we have told you how it will be used. An overview of our Privacy Policy is as follows:
Email Policy
Please do not use email for urgent or confidential matters. If you need an immediate response, please call us directly at (925) 935-5425 or call 911.
If you are a patient, please include your name and the reason for the message in the Subject field of the email. Make sure to provide complete name, the name of your physician and a telephone number where you can be reached.
To handle all messages promptly, be aware that email messages may be viewed by multiple people in our practice.
Why We Collect Information
If you make a purchase on our web site, we collect as minimal information as is needed in order to process your order. The order information also helps us to answer any question you might have after you place an order. If you contact our customer service department, we will have information about you and your order in order to serve you.
We do not collect information about our visitors from other sources, such as public records or bodies or private organizations. Likewise, we do not automatically log personal data nor do we link information automatically logged by other means with personal data about specific individuals.
Your Information Is Kept Private
We keep your information private and do not share it with any entity outside Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center Inc.. We also do not sell your information to marketing companies. We might use the information to contact you when we introduce new products or services. You can request to remove your name from our marketing list, if you do not wish to receive such information from us.
Access to Personal Data
You can ask us whether we are keeping personal data about you by sending an e-mail to[email protected]. Upon your request and within a reasonable time, we will provide you with a readable copy of the personal data that we keep about you. We may require proof of your identity before providing such data.
Request to Remove Your Information
When you choose to register with us, whether to place an order or to receive our newsletter, you may later inform us you no longer wish to receive information from us via e-mail. We will honor your request. You may communicate your wish by contacting us at:
Customer Service Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Inc.
325 N. Wiget Lane #130
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
Tel: (925) 935-5425
Fax: (925) 947-2671
E-mail: Customer Service Email
Updating or Correcting Your Information
At any time you may contact us to change your information. Please contact us at the address above, and we will update your information promptly.
Official Notice of Privacy Practices
WHAT THIS NOTICE IS AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
This notice is required by law to inform you of how your health information will be protected, how Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc. may use or disclose your health information, and about your rights regarding your health information. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the office at (925) 935-5425.
ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
By law we must:
In the course of providing health care, we collect various types of medical information from members and patients and other sources, including other health care providers. The medical information may be used, for example, to provide health care coverage, detect fraud and abuse, review the competence or qualifications of health care professionals, and fulfill legal and regulatory requirements. The types of medical information that we collect and maintain about members and patients include, for example:
This section tells you about your rights regarding your medical information, for example, your medical and billing records. It also describes how you can exercise these rights.
Right to Inspect and Copy
In general, you have the right to inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually this includes medical and billing records, but may not include some mental health information. If you would like to see or receive a copy of such a record, please write us.
After we have received your written request, we will let you know when and how you can see or obtain a copy of your record. If you agree, we will give you a summary or explanation of your medical information instead of providing copies. We may charge you a fee for the copies, summary, or explanation. If we don't have the record you asked for but we know who does, we will tell you who to contact to request it.
In limited situations we may deny some or all of your request to see or receive copies of your records, but if we do, we will tell you why in writing and explain your right, if any, to have our denial reviewed.
Right to Request Confidential Communications
You may ask us to send your medical information to a different address (for example, your work address) or by different means (for example, fax instead of regular mail).. When we can reasonably and lawfully agree to your request, we will. However, we are permitted to charge you for any additional cost of sending your medical information to different addresses or by different means.
Right to Amend
If you feel that medical information we have about your is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc.
We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:
You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." The list we give you will include disclosures made in the last six years, unless you request a shorter time or if less than six years have passes since April 14, 2003. For example, if you requested a list of disclosures on April 14, 2005, the list would cover only two years. You are entitled to one disclosure accounting in any 12-month period at no charge. If you request any additional accountings less than 12 months later, we may charge a fee.
An accounting does not include certain disclosures, for example, disclosures to carry out treatment, payment or and health care operations; disclosures that occurred prior to April 14, 2003; disclosures for which Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc. has a signed authorization; disclosures of your medical information to you; disclosures for notifications for disaster relief purposes; or disclosures to persons involved in your care and persons acting on your behalf. To request this list you must submit your request in writing to Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc.
Right to Request Restrictions
You may request that we limit our uses and disclosures of your medical information for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes. However, by law, we do not have to agree to your request. Because we strongly believe that this information is needed to appropriately manage the care of our members/patients, it is our policy to NOT agree to requests for restrictions.
Right to Receive a Paper Copy of this Notice
You also have a right to receive a paper copy of this notice upon request.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
Your confidentiality is important to us. We are committed to protecting medical information about you and we have policies and procedures and other safeguards to help protect your medical information from improper use and disclosure. Sometimes we are allowed by law to use and disclose certain personal health information without your written permission. We briefly describe these uses and disclosures below and give you some examples.
How much medical information is used or disclosed without your written permission will vary depending, for example, on the intended purpose of the use or disclosure. Sometimes we may only need to use or disclose a limited amount of personal, such as to send you an appointment reminder or to confirm that you are a health plan member. At other times, we may need to use or disclose more personal health information such as when we are providing medical treatment.
Except for those uses and disclosures described above, we will not use or disclose your medical information without your written authorization. When your authorization is required and you authorize us to use or disclose your medical information for some purpose, you may revoke that authorization by notifying us in writing at any time. Please note that the revocation will not apply to any authorized use or disclosure of your medical information that took place before we received your revocation. Also, if you gave your authorization to secure a policy of insurance, including health care coverage from us, you may not be permitted to revoke it until the insurer can no longer contest the policy issued to you or a claim under the policy.
HOW TO CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE OR TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc. at (925) 935-5424. We will not take retaliatory action against you if you file a complaint about our privacy practices.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We may change this notice and our privacy practices at any time, as long as the change is consistent with state and federal law. Any revised notice will apply both to the medical information we already have about you at the time of the change, and any medical information created or received after the change takes effect. If we make an important change to our privacy practices, we will promptly change this notice and provide a new notice. Except for changes required by law, we ill not implement an important change to our privacy practices before we revise this notice.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS NOTICE
This notice is effective on April 14, 2003.
Email Policy
Please do not use email for urgent or confidential matters. If you need an immediate response, please call us directly at (925) 935-5425 or call 911.
If you are a patient, please include your name and the reason for the message in the Subject field of the email. Make sure to provide complete name, the name of your physician and a telephone number where you can be reached.
To handle all messages promptly, be aware that email messages may be viewed by multiple people in our practice.
Why We Collect Information
If you make a purchase on our web site, we collect as minimal information as is needed in order to process your order. The order information also helps us to answer any question you might have after you place an order. If you contact our customer service department, we will have information about you and your order in order to serve you.
We do not collect information about our visitors from other sources, such as public records or bodies or private organizations. Likewise, we do not automatically log personal data nor do we link information automatically logged by other means with personal data about specific individuals.
Your Information Is Kept Private
We keep your information private and do not share it with any entity outside Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center Inc.. We also do not sell your information to marketing companies. We might use the information to contact you when we introduce new products or services. You can request to remove your name from our marketing list, if you do not wish to receive such information from us.
Access to Personal Data
You can ask us whether we are keeping personal data about you by sending an e-mail to[email protected]. Upon your request and within a reasonable time, we will provide you with a readable copy of the personal data that we keep about you. We may require proof of your identity before providing such data.
Request to Remove Your Information
When you choose to register with us, whether to place an order or to receive our newsletter, you may later inform us you no longer wish to receive information from us via e-mail. We will honor your request. You may communicate your wish by contacting us at:
Customer Service Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Inc.
325 N. Wiget Lane #130
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
Tel: (925) 935-5425
Fax: (925) 947-2671
E-mail: Customer Service Email
Updating or Correcting Your Information
At any time you may contact us to change your information. Please contact us at the address above, and we will update your information promptly.
Official Notice of Privacy Practices
WHAT THIS NOTICE IS AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
This notice is required by law to inform you of how your health information will be protected, how Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc. may use or disclose your health information, and about your rights regarding your health information. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the office at (925) 935-5425.
ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
By law we must:
- protect the privacy of your medical information
- tell you about your rights and our legal duties with respect to your medical information; and
- tell you about our privacy practices and follow our notice currently in effect
In the course of providing health care, we collect various types of medical information from members and patients and other sources, including other health care providers. The medical information may be used, for example, to provide health care coverage, detect fraud and abuse, review the competence or qualifications of health care professionals, and fulfill legal and regulatory requirements. The types of medical information that we collect and maintain about members and patients include, for example:
- Hospital, medical, mental health and substance abuse patient records, laboratory results, X-ray reports, pharmacy records and appointment records.
- Information from members/patients, for example, through surveys, applications and other forms, and online communications; and,
- Information about your relationship with Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc. such as: medical services received, claims history, and information from your benefits plan sponsor or employer about group health coverage you may have.
This section tells you about your rights regarding your medical information, for example, your medical and billing records. It also describes how you can exercise these rights.
Right to Inspect and Copy
In general, you have the right to inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually this includes medical and billing records, but may not include some mental health information. If you would like to see or receive a copy of such a record, please write us.
After we have received your written request, we will let you know when and how you can see or obtain a copy of your record. If you agree, we will give you a summary or explanation of your medical information instead of providing copies. We may charge you a fee for the copies, summary, or explanation. If we don't have the record you asked for but we know who does, we will tell you who to contact to request it.
In limited situations we may deny some or all of your request to see or receive copies of your records, but if we do, we will tell you why in writing and explain your right, if any, to have our denial reviewed.
Right to Request Confidential Communications
You may ask us to send your medical information to a different address (for example, your work address) or by different means (for example, fax instead of regular mail).. When we can reasonably and lawfully agree to your request, we will. However, we are permitted to charge you for any additional cost of sending your medical information to different addresses or by different means.
Right to Amend
If you feel that medical information we have about your is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc.
We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:
- Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment.
- Is not part of the medical information kept by or for Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc.
- Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
- Is accurate and complete
You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." The list we give you will include disclosures made in the last six years, unless you request a shorter time or if less than six years have passes since April 14, 2003. For example, if you requested a list of disclosures on April 14, 2005, the list would cover only two years. You are entitled to one disclosure accounting in any 12-month period at no charge. If you request any additional accountings less than 12 months later, we may charge a fee.
An accounting does not include certain disclosures, for example, disclosures to carry out treatment, payment or and health care operations; disclosures that occurred prior to April 14, 2003; disclosures for which Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc. has a signed authorization; disclosures of your medical information to you; disclosures for notifications for disaster relief purposes; or disclosures to persons involved in your care and persons acting on your behalf. To request this list you must submit your request in writing to Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc.
Right to Request Restrictions
You may request that we limit our uses and disclosures of your medical information for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes. However, by law, we do not have to agree to your request. Because we strongly believe that this information is needed to appropriately manage the care of our members/patients, it is our policy to NOT agree to requests for restrictions.
Right to Receive a Paper Copy of this Notice
You also have a right to receive a paper copy of this notice upon request.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
Your confidentiality is important to us. We are committed to protecting medical information about you and we have policies and procedures and other safeguards to help protect your medical information from improper use and disclosure. Sometimes we are allowed by law to use and disclose certain personal health information without your written permission. We briefly describe these uses and disclosures below and give you some examples.
How much medical information is used or disclosed without your written permission will vary depending, for example, on the intended purpose of the use or disclosure. Sometimes we may only need to use or disclose a limited amount of personal, such as to send you an appointment reminder or to confirm that you are a health plan member. At other times, we may need to use or disclose more personal health information such as when we are providing medical treatment.
- For treatment: This is the most important use and disclosure of your medical information. For example, the health care personnel, including trainees, involved in your care use and disclose your personnel, including trainees, involved in your care use and disclose your personal health care to diagnose your condition and evaluate your health care needs. Our personnel will use and disclose your medical information in order to provide and coordinate the care and services you need for example, prescriptions, X-rays, and lab work. If you need care from health care providers who are not part of our practice, such as community resources to assist with your health care needs at home, we may disclose your medical information to them.
- For treatment alternatives and health-related benefits and services: We may disclose medical information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
- For payment: Your medical information may be needed to determine our responsibility to pay for, or to permit us to bill and collect payment for, treatment and health-related services that you receive. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about a treatment you received so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the procedure. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.
- For health care operations: We may use and disclose your medical information for certain health care operations, for example, quality assessment and improvement, training and evaluation of health care professionals, licensing, accreditation, and determining premiums and other costs of providing health care.
- For business associates: We may contract with business associates to perform certain functions or activities on our behalf, such as payment and health care operations. These business associates must agree to safeguard your medical information.
- For appointment reminders: We may use and disclose your medical information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment.
- For specific types of medical information: There are stricter requirements for use and disclosure for some types of medical information, for example, mental health and drug and alcohol abuse patient information, HIV tests, and genetic testing information. However, there are still circumstances in which these types of information may be used and disclosed without your authorization. If you become a patient in our chemical dependence program, we will give you a separate written notice, as required by law, about your privacy rights for your chemical dependency program medical information.
- For communications with family and others when you are present: Sometimes a family member or other person involved in your care will be present when we are discussing your medical information with you. If you object, please tell us and we won't discuss your medical information or we will ask the person to leave.
- For communications with family and others when you are not present: There may be times when it is necessary to disclose your medical information to a family member or other person involved in your care because there is an emergency, you are not present, or you lack the decision making capacity to agree or object. In those instances, we will use our professional judgment to determine if it's in your best interest to disclose your medical information. If so, we will limit the disclosure to the medical information that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your health care. For example, we may allow someone to pick up a prescription for you.
- For disclosure in case of disaster relief: We may disclose your name, city of residence, age, gender, and general condition to a public or private disaster relief organization to assist disaster relief efforts, unless you object at the time.
- For disclosures to parents as personal representatives of minors: In most cases, we may disclose your minor child's medical information to you. In some situations, however, we are permitted or even required by law to deny your access to your minor child's medical information. An example of when we must deny such access, based on the type of health care, is when a minor who is twelve or older seeks care for a communicable disease or condition. Another situation when we must deny access to parents is when minors have adult rights to make their own health care decisions. These minors include, for example, minors who were or are married or who have a declaration of emancipation from a court.
- For research: Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes. Some of our research may involve medical procedures and some is limited to collection and analysis of health data. Research of all kinds may involve the use or disclosure of your medical information. Your medical information can generally be used or disclosed for research without your permission if an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approves such use or disclosure. An IRB is a committee that is responsible, under federal law, for reviewing and approving human subjects research to protect the safety of the participants and the confidentiality of medical information.
- For organ donation: We may use or diagnose your medical information to organ-procurement organizations to assist with organ, eye or other tissue donations.
- For public health activities: Public health activities cover many functions performed or authorized by government agencies to promote and protect the public's health and may require us to disclose your medical information - For example, we may disclose your medical information as part of our obligation to report to public health authorities certain diseases, injuries, conditions, and vital events such as births. Sometimes we may disclose your medical information to someone you may have exposed to communicable disease or who may otherwise be at risk of getting or spreading the disease.- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for tracking and monitoring certain medical products, such as pacemakers and hip replacements, to identify product problems and failures and injuries they may have caused. If you have received one of these products, we may use and disclose your medical information to the FDA or other authorized persons or organizations, such as the maker of the product.
- Health oversight: As health care providers and health plans, we are subject to oversight conducted by federal and state agencies. These agencies may conduct audits of our operations and activities and in that process they may review your medical information.
- Disclosures to your employer or your employee organization: If you are enrolled in a health plan through your employer or employee organization, we may share certain medical information with them without your authorization, but only when allowed by law. For example, we may disclose your medical information for a worker's compensation claim or to determine whether you are enrolled in the plan or whether premiums have been paid on your behalf. For other purposes, such as for inquiries by your employer or employee organization on your behalf, we will obtain your authorization when necessary under applicable law.
- Worker's compensation: In order to comply with workers' compensation laws, we may use and disclose your medical information. For example, we may communicate your medical information regarding a work-related injury or illness to claims administrators, insurance carriers, and others responsible for evaluating your claim for workers' compensation benefits.
- Military activity and national security: We may sometimes use or disclose your medical information of armed forces personnel to the applicable military authorities when they believe it is necessary to properly carry out military missions. We may also disclose your medical information to authorized federal officers as necessary for national security and intelligence activities or for protection of the president and other government officials or dignitaries.
- Marketing: Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness, Inc. may use and disclose your medical information to contact you about services, or supplies that we can offer you.
- As required by law: In some circumstances federal or state law requires that we disclose your medical information to others. For example, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services may review our compliance efforts, which may include seeing your medical information.
- Lawsuits and other legal disputes: We may use and disclose medical information in responding to a court or administrative order; a subpoena, or a discovery request. We may also use and disclose medical information to the extent permitted by law without your authorization, for example, to defend a lawsuit or arbitration.
- Law enforcement: We may disclose medical information to authorized officials for law enforcement purposes, for example, to respond to a search warrant, report a crime on our premises, or help identify or locate someone.
- To avert a serious threat to health or safety: We may use and disclose your medical information if we believe it is necessary to avoid a serious threat to your health or safety or to someone else's.
- Abuse or neglect: By law, we may disclose medical information to the appropriate authority to report suspected child abuse or neglect or to identify suspected victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
- Coroners and funeral directors: We may disclose medical information to a coroner or medical examiner to permit identification of a body, determine cause of death, or for other official duties. We may also disclose medical information to funeral directors.
- Inmates: Under the federal law that requires us to give you this notice, inmates do not have the same rights to control their information as other individuals. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or in the custody of a law enforcement official, we may disclose your medical information to the correctional institution or the law enforcement official for certain purposes, for example, to protect your health or safety of someone else's.
- We may use and disclose your medical information as necessary to comply with federal and state laws that govern workplace safety.
Except for those uses and disclosures described above, we will not use or disclose your medical information without your written authorization. When your authorization is required and you authorize us to use or disclose your medical information for some purpose, you may revoke that authorization by notifying us in writing at any time. Please note that the revocation will not apply to any authorized use or disclosure of your medical information that took place before we received your revocation. Also, if you gave your authorization to secure a policy of insurance, including health care coverage from us, you may not be permitted to revoke it until the insurer can no longer contest the policy issued to you or a claim under the policy.
HOW TO CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE OR TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Mount Diablo Integrated Wellness Center, Inc. at (925) 935-5424. We will not take retaliatory action against you if you file a complaint about our privacy practices.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We may change this notice and our privacy practices at any time, as long as the change is consistent with state and federal law. Any revised notice will apply both to the medical information we already have about you at the time of the change, and any medical information created or received after the change takes effect. If we make an important change to our privacy practices, we will promptly change this notice and provide a new notice. Except for changes required by law, we ill not implement an important change to our privacy practices before we revise this notice.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS NOTICE
This notice is effective on April 14, 2003.