Our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we use and disclose your protected health information or PHI, our legal duties with respect to your PHI, and your rights with respect to your PHI and how you may exercise them.
Our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice provide information about our privacy practices on our websites or applications that link to them.
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.
Vital Care and its Affiliated Covered Entities (collectively “Vital Care”) are committed to protecting the privacy of your identifiable health information. This information is known as “protected health information” or “PHI.” Examples of documents that may contain your PHI include laboratory test orders, test results and invoices.
Our Responsibilities
Vital Care is required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI. We are also required to provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices upon request. It describes our legal duties, privacy practices and your patient rights as determined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). We are required to follow the terms of this Notice currently in effect. We are required to notify affected individuals in the event of a breach involving PHI that is unsecured. PHI is stored electronically and is subject to electronic disclosure. This Notice does not apply to certain services that we perform, such as some drugs of abuse testing services and insurance applicant services.
How We May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
We use your PHI for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations purposes and for other purposes permitted or required by law. Not every use or disclosure is listed in this Notice, but all of our uses or disclosures of your PHI will fall into one of the categories listed below.
We need your authorization to use or disclose your PHI for any purpose not covered by one of the categories below. With limited exceptions, we will not use or disclose psychotherapy notes, use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes or sell your PHI unless you have signed an authorization. You may revoke any authorization you sign at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your PHI except to the extent we have already taken action based on your authorization.
We may use and disclose your PHI for the following purposes:
Treatment
Vital Care provides laboratory testing for physicians and other healthcare professionals, and we use your PHI in our testing process. We disclose your PHI to authorized healthcare professionals who order tests or need access to your test results for treatment purposes. We may use and disclose PHI to contact you to remind you of an appointment or to tell you about our health-related products and services that may be of interest to you. Examples of other treatment-related purposes include disclosure to a pathologist to help interpret your test results or the use of your PHI to contact you to obtain another specimen, if necessary.
However, for self-pay purchases made through our site, except for the ordering provider, we do not share test results with other providers or healthcare professionals for treatment purposes.
Payment
Vital Care may use and disclose your PHI for purposes of billing and payment. For example, we may disclose your PHI to health plans or other payers to determine whether you are enrolled with the payer or eligible for health benefits or to obtain payment for our services. If you are insured under another person’s health insurance policy (for example, parent, spouse, domestic partner or a former spouse), we may also send invoices to the subscriber whose policy covers your health services.
Healthcare Operations
Vital Care may use and disclose your PHI for activities necessary to support our healthcare operations, such as performing quality checks on our testing, internal audits, arranging for legal services or developing reference ranges for our tests.
Business Associates
We may provide your PHI to other companies or individuals that need it to provide services to us. These other entities, known as “business associates,” are required to maintain the privacy and security of PHI. For example, our business associates may use your PHI to conduct billing, collections, imaging, courier, or record storage services on our behalf.
Individuals Involved in Your Care
We may disclose relevant PHI to a family member, friend, caregiver or other individual involved in your healthcare or payment for your healthcare if you tell us that this is acceptable to you or you do not object; or if in our professional judgment, we believe that you do not object.
As Required by Law
We may use and disclose your PHI as required by law.
Law Enforcement Activities and Legal Proceedings
We may use and disclose your PHI if necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to your health and safety or that of another person. We may also provide PHI to law enforcement officials, for example, in response to a warrant, investigative demand or similar legal process, or for officials to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person. We may disclose your PHI as required to comply with a court or administrative order. We may disclose your PHI in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other legal processes in the course of a judicial or administrative proceeding, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order of protection for the requested information.
Research
We may use or disclose PHI for research purposes when permitted by law, such as when an Institutional Review Board or privacy board has reviewed the research proposal and plans to ensure the privacy of your PHI and determined that your authorization is not required. We may also use or disclose PHI about deceased patients to researchers if certain requirements are met.
We may use and disclose a limited data set containing some of your PHI for research purposes. However, we will only disclose a limited data set if we enter into a data use agreement with the recipient.
Other Uses and Disclosures
As permitted by HIPAA, we may disclose your PHI to:
- Social Services Agencies
- Public Health Authorities
- The Food and Drug Administration
- Health Oversight Agencies
- Military Command Authorities
- National Security and Intelligence Organizations
- Correctional Institutions
- Organ and Tissue Donation Organizations
- Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors
- Workers Compensation Agents
We may also disclose PHI to those assisting in disaster relief efforts so that family or friends can be notified about your condition, status and location.
Incidental Uses and Disclosures
Sometimes, your PHI may be used or disclosed in the course of our primary uses and disclosures, such as for treatment, payment or healthcare operations. For example, we may call your name in the waiting room at one of our Patient Service Centers, or use it in a telephone conversation with a provider. We are permitted to make such incidental uses and disclosures as long as we take reasonable steps to minimize them, and have in place appropriate safeguards to protect them.
Note Regarding State Law
For all of the above purposes, when state law is more restrictive than federal law, we are required to follow the more restrictive state law.
Your Patient Rights
Receive Test Information
You have the right to access your PHI. You may:
- Contact Customer Service to request your records; or
- Complete and submit a Patient Request to Access or to Disclose Protected Health Information (PHI) (Access Form) in English or Spanish to obtain your test results and other PHI (or request the form from our Customer Service team); or
- Submit a written request of your own to our Customer Service team to obtain your PHI (requests must be signed and include enough demographic and other information necessary for us to authenticate you and identify your records).
- If your request for test information is denied, you may request that the denial be reviewed.
Amend Health Information
You may request amendments (changes) to your PHI by making a written request. However, we may deny the request in some cases (such as if we determine the PHI is accurate). If we deny your request to change your PHI, we will provide you with a written explanation of the reason for the denial and let you know about further actions you may take.
Accounting for Disclosures
You have the right to receive a list of certain disclosures of your PHI made by Vital Care in the past six years from the date of your written request. Under the law, this does not include disclosures made for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations or certain other purposes.
Request Restrictions
You may request that we agree to restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your PHI. We are not required to agree to your request, except for requests to limit disclosures to your health plan for purposes of payment or healthcare operations when you have paid us for the item or service covered by the request out-of-pocket and in full and when the uses or disclosures are not required by law.
Request Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that we send your health information by alternative means or to an alternative address, and we will accommodate reasonable requests.
Copy of this Notice
You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice upon request.
How to Exercise Your Rights
You may write or send an email to us with your specific request. Please refer to the Contact Information below. Vital Care will consider your request and provide you with a response.
Complaints/Questions/Contact Information
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to file a complaint with us. You also have the right to file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. Vital Care will not retaliate against any individual for filing a complaint. To file a complaint with us, or should you have questions about this Notice, send an email to us, call us or write to us at any of the following addresses:
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Vega Baja
Calle Marginal #113 Urb. Montecarlo, Vega Baja, PR 00694
Phone (787) 665-0490
Fax (787) 665-0492
Email laboratoriovitalcarevegabaja@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Manatí
Marginal Elliot Vélez B-50 Urb. Atena,
Manatí, PR 00674
Phone (787) 966-7135
Fax (787) 966-7136
Email laboratoriovitalcaremanatii@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Manatí
Marginal Elliot Vélez B-50 Urb. Atena,
Manatí, PR 00674
Phone (787) 966-7135
Fax (787) 966-7136
Email laboratoriovitalcarearecibo@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Isla Verde
Laguna Garden Shopping Center Suite 208, Carolina, PR 00981
Phone (787) 395-7769
Fax (787) 395-7771
Email laboratoriovitalcareislaverde@gmail.com
Note
We reserve the right to amend the terms of this Notice to reflect changes in our privacy practices and to make the new terms and practices applicable to all PHI that we maintain about you, including PHI created or received prior to the effective date of the Notice revision. Our Notice is displayed on our website and a copy is available upon request.
Non-Discrimination Notice
We comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. Vital Care does not exclude people or treat them differently because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
If you believe that Vital Care has failed to provide accessibility services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex, you can file a grievance at any of our locations.
You can file a grievance in person or by mail, fax, or email. If you need help filing a grievance, the Vital Care Civil Rights Coordinator is available to help you.
Effective: December 30, 2021
Privacy notice
We know that privacy is important to you. Your privacy is important to us too. This Notice explains how Vital Care and its affiliates collect information from or about you when you visit the websites or any applications that link to this Notice, and how we use, maintain, protect and disclose that information. Should you have any questions about this Notice or our privacy practices more generally, please email us, call us or write to us at:
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Vega Baja
Calle Marginal #113 Urb. Montecarlo, Vega Baja, PR 00694
Phone (787) 665-0490
Fax (787) 665-0492
Email laboratoriovitalcarevegabaja@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Manatí
Marginal Elliot Vélez B-50 Urb. Atena,
Manatí, PR 00674
Phone (787) 966-7135
Fax (787) 966-7136
Email laboratoriovitalcaremanatii@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Manatí
Marginal Elliot Vélez B-50 Urb. Atena,
Manatí, PR 00674
Phone (787) 966-7135
Fax (787) 966-7136
Email laboratoriovitalcarearecibo@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Isla Verde
Laguna Garden Shopping Center Suite 208, Carolina, PR 00981
Phone (787) 395-7769
Fax (787) 395-7771
Email laboratoriovitalcareislaverde@gmail.com
Personal Information We Collect
Information From You
We collect some information directly from you when you voluntarily provide it to us, for example:
- Contact Information: such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, and/or username and password, if you choose to create them.
- Transaction Information: such as credit or debit card information, address and other information related to a billing or payment transaction, including things like the information submitted to schedule an appointment and register for appointment reminders.
- Client Services/Customer Care/Technical Assistance and Other Inquiries: such as questions or comments you submit through online forms or via email. For instance, if you contact us by phone, we may record the conversation and or keep summaries or notes of the call.
- Applicant Information: information you provide in connection with career opportunities, such as your resume, cover letters and demographics.
- Other Information You Provide: any other information you may provide to us directly through our websites for things like whitepapers or surveys, or through social media.
Vital Care collects other information online automatically when you visit our websites or applications, which may also be described in our Cookie Notice. This can include things like:
- Device Information: including your IP address, browser types, operating system, device types and device IDs or advertising identifiers.
- Usage Information: such as your browsing activity while on our websites or applications, what pages you visit and what you click, forms you complete or start to complete, search terms you use, whether you open emails and interact with content, access times, error logs and similar information.
Vital Care may also receive information about you from others, such as updated address information if we discover the information we have is no longer current.
How to Review and Change Your Personal Information
If you register for a Vital Care account, you may review and change your personal information by logging in to Vital Care’s site, clicking on your name at the top of the screen and then clicking on “Manage Profile,” or by logging into our billing portal and then clicking “Manage My Account” and then “My Profile,” or by logging in while making an Appointment, then clicking on the “Cancel/Change/Confirm” link and “Manage my Account.”
How We Use Personal Information That We Collect
We may use your personal information:
- as reasonably necessary and proportionate to fulfill the purposes for which the information was provided
- to provide information, products or services
- to audit and measure user interaction with our websites, so we can improve the relevancy or effectiveness of our content and message
- to develop and carry out marketing, advertising and analytics
- to provide texts or emails containing information about our products or services, or events or news, that may be of interest to recipients, as permitted by law
- to deliver content and products or services relevant to your interests, including targeted ads on third party sites
- to detect security incidents or monitor for fraudulent or illegal activity
- debugging to identify and repair errors
- to comply with laws, regulations or other legal processes
We may also use your personal information to:
- provide you with the services and products you request or that have been ordered and/or requested by your healthcare provider;
- process or collect payments for our services
- respond to your questions and otherwise provide the support you request.
If you are using our websites or applications in connection with our HIPAA covered services, please refer to our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, which describes how we use and disclose your protected health information, our legal duties with respect to your protected health information, and your rights with respect to your protected health information and how you may exercise them. In connection with HIPAA-covered services, in the event of a conflict between this Notice and our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices will prevail.
How We Share Your Personal Information
We may share the information we collect as described below. When we share information, either within our company or with others, we take steps to require any recipients to uphold similar protections for information as that provided by Vital Care.
Within Vital Care. We may share your personal information with other Vital Care-owned business entities.
- Service Providers/Vendors/Third Parties. We work with others to manage or support some of our business operations and services. These entities may be located outside of your country of residence or the country in which you are located.
- For Legal Purposes. We may disclose relevant information as may be necessary or required for legal, compliance or regulatory purposes. This includes, for example, disclosures that are required to: (i) respond to duly authorized information requests from police and governmental authorities; (ii) comply with any law, regulation, subpoena, or court order; (iii) investigate and help prevent security threats, fraud or other malicious activity; (iv) enforce/protect the rights and properties of Vital Care or its subsidiaries; (v) protect the rights or personal safety of Vital Care, our employees, and third parties; or protect the security of our websites, systems, information, premises or property.
- For Corporate Transactions. From time to time we sell, buy, merge or otherwise reorganize our businesses. Those corporate restructuring situations may involve the disclosure of personal information to prospective or actual purchasers, or the receipt of it from sellers.
- Otherwise with Your Consent. We may also share information about you with third parties if we ask you, and you provide, consent to such sharing.
Cookie Notice
Our websites, like almost all other websites, use cookies and other technologies to collect and share information. Please see our Cookie Notice for more information.
Keeping Your Information Secure
Vital Care has adopted physical, technical and administrative measures that are designed to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of personal information. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of information. No security measures are infallible.
How can you help protect your information?
If you are using a Vital Care website or application for which you registered and chose a password, you should not divulge your password to anyone. We will never ask you for your password in an unsolicited phone call or in an unsolicited email. Also, remember to sign out of the Vital Care website and close your browser window when you have finished your work.
Please note that unencrypted email is not a secure method of transmission, as information in such emails may be accessed and viewed by others while in transit to us. For this reason, we prefer that you not communicate confidential or sensitive information to us via regular unencrypted email. We will, however, honor patient requests for communications through unencrypted email.
Links to Other Sites
Our websites may contain links to other websites that we do not own or operate. If you access those links, you will leave our websites. Vital Care does not control those third-party websites or their privacy practices, which may differ from ours. We do not endorse or make any representations about third-party sites, including about the content or security of those sites. The information you choose to provide to or that is collected by these third parties is not covered by this Privacy Notice. We, therefore, recommend that you review the privacy notice of any third-party websites.
Children’s Privacy
We do not knowingly collect information from children (as defined by local law) and we do not target our websites or applications to children. If we learn that we have collected any information from children, we will delete it.
Additional Rights of Individuals in Certain Jurisdictions
EU/European Economic Area/United Kingdom: If you are located in one of these locations, this Notice does not apply to you.
EU-US Privacy Shield Framework
As further described in our Privacy Shield Notice, Vital Care and some of our US-based affiliated companies have certified to and adhere to the principles of the EU-US Privacy Shield framework, but no longer rely on it as a legal basis for transfers of personal data in light of the Schrems II decision. As of July 16, 2020, we instead rely on other available transfer mechanisms, such as the Standard Contractual Clauses and supplementary measures, as appropriate.
Non-Discrimination Notice
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care and its subsidiaries (Vital Care) comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. Vital Care does not exclude people or treat them differently because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
If you believe hat Vital Care has failed to provide accessibility services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex, you can file a grievance at any of our locations.
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Vega Baja
Calle Marginal #113 Urb. Montecarlo, Vega Baja, PR 00694
Phone (787) 665-0490
Fax (787) 665-0492
Email laboratoriovitalcarevegabaja@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Manatí
Marginal Elliot Vélez B-50 Urb. Atena,
Manatí, PR 00674
Phone (787) 966-7135
Fax (787) 966-7136
Email laboratoriovitalcaremanatii@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Manatí
Marginal Elliot Vélez B-50 Urb. Atena,
Manatí, PR 00674
Phone (787) 966-7135
Fax (787) 966-7136
Email laboratoriovitalcarearecibo@gmail.com
Laboratorio Clínico Vital Care
Isla Verde
Laguna Garden Shopping Center Suite 208, Carolina, PR 00981
Phone (787) 395-7769
Fax (787) 395-7771
Email laboratoriovitalcareislaverde@gmail.com
You can file a grievance in person or by mail, fax, or email. If you need help filing a grievance, the Vital Care Civil Rights Coordinator is available to help you.
Updates To This Privacy Notice
From time to time, we may change this Privacy Notice. If we make changes, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the bottom of this Notice. We encourage you to review this Notice periodically to be sure you are aware of those changes. Changes will become effective as of the “Last Updated” date.
Last Updated: December 30, 2021