HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

WeTrials HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

Last updated May 1, 2022

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

This HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices (the "Notice") contains important information regarding your medical information. Our current Notice is posted at www.wetrials.com . You also have the right to receive a paper copy of this Notice and may ask us to give you a copy of this Notice at any time. If you received this Notice electronically, you are entitled to a paper copy of this Notice.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") imposes numerous requirements on covered entities regarding how certain individually identifiable health information—known as protected health information (or PHI)—may be used and disclosed. This Notice describes how the Wetrials (hereinafter referred to as ‘Covered Entity’ or ‘We’), and any of our business associates, may use and disclose your protected health information for research purposes and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. This Notice also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. "Protected health information" is information that is obtained and maintained by the Covered Entity during interviews, through surveys, user groups, forums and any other interaction forums, including video conferencing tools,  which may identify you and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services.

We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information about you and will use it to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purpose of the use, disclosure, or request of it.

How We May Use and Disclose Medical Information About You: Although HIPAA generally permits the use and disclosure of your health information without your permission for purposes of health care treatment, payment activities, and health care operations, Covered Entity will only use your information for research purposes, to validate market requirements, to obtain feedback or any other permissible use consented to in the HIPAA authorization, and will not use or disclose your PHI without consent and/or authorization from you. When sharing information with our business associates, we will always try to ensure that the medical information used or disclosed is limited to a "Designated Record Set" and to the "Minimum Necessary" standard, including a "limited data set," as defined in HIPAA.

We may also disclose your information:

a.    To Comply with Federal and State Requirements: We will disclose medical information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law. For example, we may disclose medical information when required by the U.S. Department of Labor or other government agencies that regulate us; to federal, state, and local law enforcement officials; in response to a judicial order, subpoena, or other lawful process; and to address matters of public interest as required or permitted by law.

b.    We are required to disclose medical information about you to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if the Secretary is investigating or determining compliance with HIPAA, or to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence and other national security activities authorized by law. We may disclose your medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law.

c.    To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone who is able to help prevent the threat.

d.    Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release medical information about you as required by military command authorities. We may also release medical information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.

e.    Business Associates: We may disclose your medical information to our business associates. We have contracted with entities (defined as "business associates" under HIPAA) to help us conduct market research. We will enter into contracts with these entities requiring them to only use and disclose your health information as we are permitted to do so under HIPAA.

f.     International disclosures: We may disclose your information to comply with the laws of any foreign country in which we or our Business Associates operate or in which we have stored ePHI.

Your Rights Regarding Medical Information About You: You have the following rights regarding health information that we maintain about you:

a.    Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your health information. If you request a copy of the information, Covered Entity will provide you with an electronic copy, which we will send through secure file transfer and may charge a fee for the costs of mailing, or other supplies associated with your request.

b.    Your Right to Amend: If you feel that health information we have about you 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 Covered Entity     .

c.    You also must provide a reason that supports your request.
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 any of the following information:

❖    Information that is not part of the medical information you provided to us through interviews or surveys.

❖    Information that was not created by us, such as any medical records by your physicians.

❖    Information that is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy.

❖    Information that is accurate and complete.

d.    Your Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures" (that is, a list of certain disclosures Covered Entity have made of your health information). Generally, you may receive an accounting of disclosures if the disclosure is required by law or made in connection with public health activities. You do not have a right to an accounting of disclosures where such disclosure was made; to you about your own health information, incidental to other permitted disclosures or where authorization was provided You also don’t have a right to an accounting of disclosures where disclosure was made as part of a limited data set where the information disclosed excludes identifying information, such as in aggregated research outputs.

e.    Your Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you for research purposes. For example, you can request us not to share your name with third parties, such as our business associates. We are not required to agree to your request.
To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing and must tell us the following information:

❖    What information you want to limit.

❖    Whether you want to limit our use, disclosure, or both.

❖    To whom you want the limits to apply (for example, disclosures to our business associates).

f.     Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about health matters in a certain way or at a certain location, for example, by email. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.

g.    Right to a copy of this privacy notice: You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.

h.    Filing a complaint: You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us.

❖    You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696- 6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/ complaints/.

❖    We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Our Responsibilities:

a.    We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

b.    We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

c.    We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.

d.    We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

Other Uses of Medical Information: Other uses and disclosures of medical information that are not covered by this Notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission. If you grant us permission to use or disclose medical information about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and that we may be required to retain our records related to your benefit determinations and enrollment.

Changes to This Notice: We can change the terms of this Notice at any time. If we do, the new terms and policies will be effective for all of the medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. The new notice will be available upon request, and on our website

Effective Date: The effective date of this Notice is May 1, 2022

Contact Information: All correspondence relating to the contents of this Notice should be directed to https://wetrials.com/#Contact

WeTrials

2467 rue Bellevue

Levis, Quebec G6W 2T8

Canada