Essential TeleHealth Privacy Policy
Revised March, 2021
Overview
This Privacy Policy governs all data and information distributed to and from ALL users, including but not limited to natural persons, corporations, companies, subsidiaries, agents, authorized representatives, robots (‘bots’), algorithms, and artificial intelligence. Federal and State laws govern how Essential, LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico (collectively ‘we’/’us’/‘Essential TeleHealth’) can use and disclose health information that ‘individually identifies’ you. We call this information ‘protected health information’ or ‘PHI’. We collect PHI when you use our App and Website and when you communicate with us.
This Privacy Policy helps you understand a) how we’ll use and share your PHI, b) what rights you have over your PHI and how to exercise your rights, c) what to do if you think we’re not complying with our legal obligations, and d) what other information we collect and share when you use the Essential TeleHealth mobile application (‘the App’) or Website.
If you have any questions, please send us a message through the App or Website or call us at 800.345.5414 during business hours, Monday to Sunday. Our normal business hours are 10:00am to 6:30pm Eastern Time Monday to Saturday. 12:00pm to 6:30pm Sunday.
How we use and disclose your PHI
We use and disclose your PHI to provide you with care, to run our healthcare operations, to take payment and to comply with regulations. We implement a range of technical, administrative and physical safeguards to protect your PHI.
We use your email address to send you a range of different types of emails, including but not limited to emails that update you as to the status of your request for a prescription or laboratory test, to send you emails that alert you that there is a message waiting for you in the App or Website, to send you emails asking for feedback on your experience of using the service, to send you emails to notify you that you may be due for a refill, and to send you emails if you create an account but fail to complete a visit. We will send you marketing emails to notify you of the services we provide. We will share your email and first name with third party email platforms to enable us to send you emails.
We use your telephone number to call you if we have any questions, to leave you voice messages if you don’t answer the telephone when we call you, and to call you to ask for feedback on your experience of using the service. We also use your telephone number to send you SMS/text message notifications. We may send you SMS notifications to update you on the progress of your visit. If you ask us to organize for a partner pharmacy to mail your medicines, we may telephone you to take payment on behalf of the pharmacy and we may SMS you to let you know that you have refills available.
To provide treatment and to run our healthcare operations and to take payment we share your PHI with selected organizations that provide us with services.
As examples, we share your PHI with organizations that help us run and maintain the technology and security infrastructure that supports the App and Website and the care we provide. We also may share your health information with medical staff who help ensure that we are providing a service that meets the appropriate standard of care.
We share your PHI and card details with our trusted online payment processors. If you choose to save your payment details to make future payments easier, our trusted payment provider will store them on our behalf. Furthermore, if you request delivery of your medicines by mail from a third party pharmacy then our trusted payment processor will always store your card details to make future payments more convenient.
We share your PHI with the pharmacy if we give you a prescription and with intermediaries who enable us to send prescriptions electronically. If you request that we organize for a partner mail order pharmacy to deliver your medicines, then we will share your PHI with and send your prescription to one or more mail order pharmacies so that there is flexibility in terms of which pharmacy mails your first deliver and which pharmacy mails any subsequent deliveries.
If we order laboratory tests for you then we share your PHI with the lab company that runs the tests. If a laboratory test we order for you finds a ‘reportable’ infection we may be required by law to share your PHI to your county health department.
We share your telephone number with the company that helps us send SMS/text messages. If we need to telephone you then we share your telephone number with our telecommunication provider.
If you decide to schedule a call-back from our medical team, you will enter your email and first and last name into Google Calendar. Google will protect your information according to their Privacy Policy that is available on their website.
We store information you provide us with whether you complete a visit or whether you do not complete a visit. We take the same precautions over your data regardless of whether you complete a visit.
We do not record video visits between our patients and our doctors. We may, however, capture a still image from the video and store that image in your medical record.
We may use your PHI to tell you about health-related products and services.
We may share your PHI with a third party if we merge, are acquired or undergo an asset sale.
Wherever possible we strive to make sure that any third parties with whom we share your PHI are legally bound by the restrictions of this Privacy Policy.
We are generally unable to delete information from your medical record. At your request we can de-activate your secure account so that you and others can no longer access it with your username and password.
Other information we collect
Separate to the health information we collect, we collect technical information about how you use our App and Website. We use this information to help us improve the overall quality of the App and Website, improve the service we provide, and improve our advertising and marketing campaigns.
Technical information we collect and may share with Facebook, Google, AppsFlyer Ltd., Microsoft (Bing Ads) and Zopim Technologies Pte Ltd / Zendesk Inc includes information about your mobile device or computer, including but not limited to unique device identifiers and the operating system and browser you use, and information about when and how you use the App or Website, including specific pages you visit, and information about your general location when you use the App and Website, including but not limited to your internet protocol address and MAC address. Facebook, Google, AppsFlyer Ltd., Microsoft and Zopim Technologies Pte Ltd / Zendesk Inc are not bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy as to how they use technical information about you but are instead bound by the Facebook, Google Analytics, AppsFlyer Ltd., Microsoft Bing Ads and Zopim Technologies Pte Ltd / Zendesk Inc Terms of Use and Privacy Policies that are available on their respective websites.
We use 3rd party vendor re-marketing tracking cookies, including the Google Adwords and Steel House and Facebook tracking cookies. This means we will continue to show ads to you across the internet. The third-party vendors will place cookies on web browsers in order to serve ads based on past visits to our website. Third party vendors, including Google and Steel House and Facebook, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to your website. This allows us to make special offers and continue to market our services to those who have shown interest in our service.
We do not respond to ‘do not track’ signals in your browser.
Risk of sending unencrypted emails
The emails we send you are not secure because they are unencrypted. Other people may be able to read and forward the emails we send you and the emails you send us. Emails we send you may include a wide range of identifiers that include but aren’t limited to your name, your email address, your visit number, your patient number, the date you used our service etc.
When you create an account on the App or Website we ask you to give us your email address. We send an email to the email address you give us. If you give us an incorrect email address we will unknowingly send an email to the wrong person.
Risk of sending unencrypted SMS/text messages
The SMS/text messages we send you are not secure because they are unencrypted. Other people may be able to read and SMS/text messages we send you and any SMS/text messages you send us.
SMS/text messages we send you will include your telephone number. It will be clear that SMS/text messages we send you have come from Essential Teleheatlh.
Risk of storing PHI on your mobile
When you use the App or Website there is a risk that your PHI will be stored unencrypted on your mobile. We take a variety of technical safeguards to make sure that your PHI does not leak onto your mobile but we cannot guarantee that these safeguards work.
Risk of our systems getting hacked and compromised
We take a number of administrative, technical and physical safeguards to look after the PHI that we hold electronically on our servers. But despite these safeguards, no system is full-proof and we cannot guarantee that our systems and your PHI will not be hacked or otherwise compromised by unauthorized third parties.
The rights you have over your PHI
Right to obtain a copy of your medical record. We are allowed to charge you a fee if we think it’s appropriate.
Right to request that we limit how we use and share your PHI. There may be occasions when we cannot agree to your request.
Right to request that we change or update information held in your medical record. There may be occasions when we cannot agree to your request.
Right to request how we send you PHI. The electronic nature of our service limits our ability to agree to such requests.
Right to an accounting of the disclosure of your PHI. You are entitled to one ‘disclosure accounting’ in a 12 month period at no charge. An accounting does not include disclosures to carry out treatment, healthcare operations or payment. We are allowed to charge a fee for any additional accounting in a 12 month period.
Right to a paper copy of this Privacy Policy. The electronic nature of our service limits our ability to agree to such requests.
How to contact Essential Teleheatlh to Use your Rights
Please write to us at: The Privacy Officer, Essential TeleHealth, 130 Ave Winston Churchill, Suite 181, San Juan, PR 00926.
How to complain
To submit a complaint to Essential Telehealth you need to submit your complaint in writing to:
The Privacy Officer, Essential TeleHealth, 130 Ave Winston Churchill, Suite 181, San Juan, PR 00926.
In addition you can complain to:
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
Attention: Regional Manager
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
233 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 240
Chicago, IL 60601
For additional information, call (800) 368-1019
or
U.S Office of Civil Rights (866) 627-7748 (Voice) or (866) 788-4989 (TTY)
No retaliation
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Effective date
This Notice is effective dated September 20th, 2020.
Changes to this Notice
If we change the terms of this Privacy Policy then we will post the new Privacy Policy on our App and Website. Any new Privacy Policy will apply to all PHI that we maintain, including PHI that was created prior to the change.
You can purchase healthcare and related services on the Site. We accept credit and debit cards issued by U.S. banks. If a credit card account is being used for a transaction, Essential TeleHealth will authorize for an amount up to the amount of the payment specified in the specific service you have ordered.You represent and warrant that if you are making online payments that (i) any credit card, debit card and bank account information you supply is true, correct and complete, (ii) charges incurred by you will be honored by your credit/debit card company or bank, (iii) you will pay the charges incurred by you in the amounts posted, including any applicable taxes, and (iv) you are the person in whose name the card was issued and you are authorized to make a purchase or other transaction with the relevant credit card and credit card information.If for some reason our physicians cannot assist you or qualify you for any service, then there is no fee for services and any authorized amount will be reversed with no charges being incurred. If a patient is having technical difficulties and cannot be contacted by a physician for any reason, then EssentialTeleHealth.com & EssentialTeleHealth.com reserves the right to make all reasonable and necessary attempts to reach the patient over the term of 30 days before any refunds will be issued. No refunds will be issued for completed medical services.