Notice of Privacy Practices

NOTICE EFFECTIVE DATE: April 14, 2003

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.

This Notice of Privacy Practices applies to the healthcare components of Verisk Health

CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Privacy Officer, Verisk Health, 201 Jones Road, 4th Floor, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451, telephone: 781-693-3700, E-mail address: .

OUR PLEDGE REGARDING YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
We understand that information about you and your health is personal and we are committed to protecting this information. A record of your protected health information (PHI) is maintained at Verisk Health in order to provide your health plan or administrator with quality services and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to the record of your PHI maintained by Verisk Health.

This notice will tell you how we may use and disclose your health information. It also describes your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of this information.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
The following categories describe different ways that we may use and disclose health information. For each category we will explain what we mean and in some instances provide an example. Not every use or disclosure will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose health information will fall within one of the following categories.

Healthcare Operations
We may use and disclose your health information for operational purposes for use by Verisk Health staff to fulfill contractual obligations with your health plan or administrator. For example, your health information may be used by our staff to assess the performance of vendors contracted by your plan or administrator. Also, your information could be used to measure medical quality and outcomes and to determine how your health plan or administrator may continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the services they provide. At times, we may remove identifiers from your health information so others may use the anonymous information to study healthcare delivery.

As Required by Law
We will disclose your health information when required to do so by federal, state or local law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety:
We will disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of another person or the general public.

Government
If you are a member of the armed forces, we may disclose your health information as required by military command authorities. We may release your health information to authorized federal officials for national security activities authorized by law.

Public Health Risks
We may disclose your health information for a number of public health activities. These include disclosures:

  • To prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
  • To report births and deaths;
  • To report child abuse or neglect;
  • To report adverse events, product defects or problems, to track products, to notify patients of product recalls, and to conduct post-marketing surveillance as required by the Food and Drug Administration;
  • To notify your employer under limited circumstances related primarily to workplace injury or illness or medical surveillance;
  • To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or who may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition; and
  • To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.

Health Oversight
We may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for health oversight activities authorized by law, which may include audits, investigations, inspections and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the healthcare system, government programs and compliance with civil rights laws.

Lawsuits and Disputes
If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose your health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose your health information in response to a subpoena, search warrant, discovery request or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute.

Law Enforcement
We may disclose your health information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official

  • To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person;
  • About the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person's agreement;
  • About a death if there is reason to believe it may be the result of criminal conduct;
  • About criminal conduct at any of our facilities; and
  • In emergency circumstances to report a crime, the location of the crime or victims, or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime.

Coroners/Medical Examiners/Funeral Directors
We may disclose your health information to a coroner, medical examiner or funeral director to assist them in performing their duties.

Other Uses or Disclosers
Uses or disclosures of your health information other than those identified in this notice will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke that authorization at any time.

Your Health Information Rights
You have the following rights regarding your health information:

  • To request restrictions/limitations on certain uses and disclosures of your health information. However, Verisk Health is not required to agree to such a request;
  • To request that we communicate with you about health matters in a certain way. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail;
  • To inspect and obtain a copy of your health record;
  • To receive a paper copy of this notice in addition to viewing it on our Web site at www.veriskhealth.com;
  • To request an amendment of incorrect or incomplete information in your health record;

All requests must be submitted in writing. Verisk Health has the right to refer you to your health plan or administrator to comply with these requests.

Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Verisk Health or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. All complaints must be submitted in writing. Verisk Health will investigate all complaints promptly and thoroughly. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.

VERISK HEALTH'S OBLIGATIONS TO YOU
Verisk Health will:

  • Maintain the privacy of your health information;
  • Provide you with this notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information;
  • Abide by the terms of this notice;
  • Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction on how your health information is used or disclosed;
  • Accommodate reasonable requests you may make to communicate health information as requested; and
  • Obtain your written authorization to use or disclose your health information for reasons other than those listed above and permitted by law.

Changes to this Notice
We reserve the right to change this notice and its practices. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice on our Web site at www.veriskhealth.com.