Privacy Notice and Authorization
Health Advocate is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Privacy Notice and Authorization applies to the Health Advocate website and governs personal and healthcare data collection and usage. By using the Health Advocate website and affirmatively acknowledging this Privacy Notice and Authorization, you consent to the data practices described in this Notice and Authorization.
What Information is Collected About You:
As a member of a Health Advocate program, your personal and health information, including, but not limited to, your name, address, telephone number, email address, social security number, member identification number, medical records, billing records, claims information, information on your medical conditions, prescribed medications, health risk status, and other health and wellness-related information ("Personal Health Information"), needs to be collected, maintained and made available to Health Advocate employees and strategic partners so that Health Advocate can administer the various programs it offers. This health information may constitute "genetic information" if the employer gathers health information from an employee's family members, such as their spouse or children. Health Advocate also collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your age, zip code, gender, preferences and interests.
How Your Information May Be Used or Disclosed:
Some of this Personal Health Information is collected and used in order to report quarterly utilization on an aggregate basis, and in an anonymous manner, to the employer or group health plan with which you are associated. Health Advocate will use and disclose your Personal Health Information only as permitted by our business associate agreements with your employer sponsored health plans, as required by law, or where required by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate or determine Health Advocate’s compliance with the HIPAA Rules.
In no event is your name or other personally identifying information disclosed to your employer in this aggregate report. However, your Employer may sponsor an employee incentive plan(s) or provide a disease/condition management program(s) for which you may be eligible to participate. To the extent that an employer administers part of the incentive plan or disease/condition management programs, the employer may receive some individually identifiable information about you for limited plan administration purposes. However, the employer may not use such information for improper or illegal purposes. For example, you may not be discriminated against in employment because of the Personal Health Information you provide. Employer plan sponsors are also required to implement reasonable safeguards to adequately separate plan administration functions from other employer activities, and to otherwise protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Personal Health Information they utilize on behalf of a group health plan.
You are not required to provide your Personal Health Information. Employers may not retaliate against employees who refuse to provide their Personal Health Information. But, employees who do provide this information may receive an incentive or reward from the wellness program.
Health Advocate will use and disclose your Personal Health Information only as necessary to administer Health Advocate's Programs. For example, we may use your Personal Health Information to assist you and provide administrative or coaching services and various wellness programs. We may also disclose your Personal Health Information with contracted service providers and trusted strategic partners. Health Advocate does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent. Under no circumstances will genetic information be used for underwriting purposes. There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by Health Advocate. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring website addresses. This information is used by Health Advocate for the operation of the service, to maintain the quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the Health Advocate website. Health Advocate cannot read or access any of your private online communications, other than those sent specifically to Health Advocate.
Health Advocate collects and uses your Personal Health Information to operate the Health Advocate website and to deliver the services you have requested. The only persons who will receive your individually identifiable health information are you and the persons or entities who need the information so health and wellness services can be delivered to you. Health Advocate does not sell, exchange, share, transfer or otherwise disclose your health information except as needed to carry out specific activities related to the wellness program. For example, Health Advocate may share data with trusted strategic partners, some of whom may provide services on the Health Advocate website. Other strategic partners may help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or provide customer support. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services on Health Advocate’s behalf, and they are required by contract, if not law, to maintain the privacy and security of your personal information. However, it should be noted that once your Personal Health Information is re-disclosed to or by third parties, it may no longer be protected by the HIPAA privacy rule. In addition, Health Advocate also does not sell, rent, or lease its customer lists to third parties.
As a Business Associate under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Health Advocate will ensure your right to access and amend your Personal Health Information, or to obtain an accounting of disclosures. Any questions or complaints about your Personal Health Information can be directed to Health Advocate's designated privacy officer at 1-866-385-8033, or the Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. Not retaliatory actions will be taken against you for filing a complaint. In the event of a breach of your Personal Health Information, Health Advocate will notify your employer sponsored health plan pursuant to its business associate agreement with that plan.
Use of Cookies
The Health Advocate website uses "cookies" to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize your Health Advocate pages, or register with the Health Advocate site or services, a cookie helps Health Advocate to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information. When you return to the same Health Advocate website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the Health Advocate features that you customized.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Health Advocate website.
Your Use of Other Websites
Health Advocate encourages you to review the privacy notices of websites you choose to link to from Health Advocate so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information. Health Advocate is not responsible for the privacy notices or other content on websites outside of the Health Advocate website.
Disclaimer:
Health Advocate does not provide health insurance or medical services, nor does it recommend treatment. Consequently, all medical services are provided by independent healthcare practitioners, who are not employees or agents of Health Advocate, Inc. Health Advocate provides administrative and informational services through its employees. All of Health Advocate's services are offered in a manner that fully respects and protects the privacy of our members and the confidentiality of their Personal Health Information.
Security of your Personal Information:
As a HIPAA Business Associate, Health Advocate follows the HIPAA Security Rule and trains its employees on privacy and security requirements. Health Advocate secures your Personal Health Information on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information is transmitted to other websites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
Changes to this Notice:
Health Advocate will occasionally update this Privacy Notice to reflect Company and customer feedback or changes in law. Health Advocate encourages you to periodically review this Privacy Notice to be informed about how Health Advocate is protecting your information.
Contact Information:
Health Advocate welcomes your comments regarding this Privacy Notice and Authorization. If you believe that Health Advocate has not adhered to this Notice, please contact us via telephone at 1-866-385-8033 or via email at answers@HealthAdvocate.com. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy your concern.
Authorization
By clicking "Agree" on this website, I hereby authorize Health Advocate or the employer, if necessary, to use or disclose my health information collected during my health screening for the purposes of my continued Health Education or Care Management over the duration of my participation in the wellness program. These services may include Care CoordinationTM, Healthy RemindersTM, Healthy WheelsTM, Doctor ReachTM, Claims AssistanceTM, Health Coaching, SeniorCare NavigatorTM, Appeals AssistanceTM services and various Wellness programs. This authorization expires upon termination of my enrollment in the wellness program unless another date is indicated to Health Advocate.
I further agree, understand, and acknowledge my rights in relation to the following:
- This Notice and Authorization is meant to address federal laws regulating the form and content of notices and authorizations for use and disclosure of health and genetic information, including, but not limited to, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
- I may refuse to agree to this Notice and Authorization. But if I do refuse to provide my authorization, I may not participate in the health screening.
- Health Advocate will ensure my rights of access, amendment and accounting with respect to the Personal Health Information it maintains about me on behalf of HIPAA covered entities.
- I am entitled to a copy of this authorization upon request.
- I may ask questions about the health information collected about me or make requests about this Notice and Authorization by contacting Health Advocate’s Privacy Officer at 1-866-385-8033.
- I may also complain to Health Advocate, my employer or group health plan, or the Secretary HHS if I believe my privacy rights have been violated, and no retaliatory actions will be taken against me for filing a complaint.