Privacy Policy

How medical information may be used & disclosed

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.

At Riverpoint Pharmacy, we are strongly committed to protecting your privacy. Because we respect your privacy, we ask that you please read this important Notice. It concerns the privacy of your health information when you use Riverpoint Pharmacy to fill your prescriptions. We recommend that you keep a copy of this Notice for future reference.

This Notice explains our privacy practices and describes how Riverpoint Pharmacy may use and disclose your health information that specifically identifies you or could be used to identify you (your "health information"). This Notice also provides you with important information about your privacy rights and how you may exercise those rights. Please note that others involved in your healthcare (for example, your health plan, and physicians) may send you separate notices describing their privacy practices.

Your health information

To provide you with safe and convenient pharmacy services including home delivery, we need to obtain and use your health information. Without your health information, we would be unable to fill your prescriptions. Examples of the health information we hold include your prescription records, your health plan information, your prescription payment history, and your address. This information may come from you (for example, when you tell us about your medical history or drug allergies), your physician, and your health plan and its agents.

How We Protect Your Personal Information

We protect your personal information a variety of ways. For example, we authorize individuals to access your personal information only to the extent necessary to conduct routine business functions such as claims payment. We take steps to secure our buildings and electronic systems from unauthorized access. We train our employees on our written confidentiality policy and procedures. Should an employee violate these procedures, he or she is subject to disciplinary action.

Our privacy policy and practices apply equally to current and former clients, so you can be assured that we will protect the confidentiality of your information even if you no longer fill prescriptions with us.

The HIPAA Privacy Standards

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has adopted privacy standards "the HIPAA Privacy Standards" which protect your health information. The HIPAA Privacy Standards establish rules for when healthcare providers, such as Riverpoint Pharmacy, may use or disclose your health information. Importantly, the HIPAA Privacy Standards also tell us what we cannot do with your health information. Activities that are not permitted under HIPAA will require your written authorization.

How Riverpoint Pharmacy may use or disclose your health information

The HIPAA Privacy Standards allow us to use and disclose your health information, without your authorization, to perform the activities listed below in our role as a pharmacy.

Routine business activities related to your pharmacy care, such as:

Treatment: We are permitted to use and disclose your health information to fill your prescriptions and provide you with appropriate treatment. For example, we may use or disclose your health information to:

• Review and interpret your prescriptions
• Screen your prescriptions to make sure the prescribed medications are safe for you
• Contact your physician to resolve questions about your prescriptions
• Refill your prescriptions when you ask us to do so
• Notify you of drug recalls or other problems with your medications

Payment: We are permitted to use and disclose your health information to receive payment for our services. For example, we may:

• Bill you for your prescriptions
• Contact your health plan or its agents to check your co-payment amount
• Check to see if specific medications are covered under your plan
• Provide your health plan or its agents with the health information they need to pay us for the medications we dispense, and so that they may otherwise manage your prescription benefit

Healthcare operations: We are permitted to use and disclose your health information for the general administrative and business activities necessary for us to operate as a pharmacy. For example, we may:

• Review and evaluate the performance of our pharmacists
• Collect medical history and drug allergy information from you
• Send communications informing you of the status of your prescriptions
• Provide customer service
• Review and resolve grievances

Riverpoint Pharmacy may also share health information with:

You: We are permitted to disclose your health information to you. For example, we may inform you of the status of your prescription order or we may contact you to provide refill reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

Family members and others involved in your care: In certain circumstances, we are permitted to disclose your health information to family members or other people involved in your care. For example:

If a family member calls a customer service representative on your behalf, we may provide the family member with information about your home prescriptions, but only if he or she is able to tell us certain information about you; for example, your prescription number.
This is done for the convenience of you and your family, so that the people close to you may continue to be involved in your care. If for any reason you do not want us to disclose your health information to your family members, you have the right to request a restriction as provided below in Your Privacy Rights.

Courts and government bodies: In certain circumstances, federal and state laws may require us to disclose your health information. For example, as a home delivery pharmacy, we are required to provide the Drug Enforcement Administration with information regarding our dispensing of certain medications. We may also provide information to government agencies for healthcare- related investigations, audits, or inspections; to comply with workers' compensation laws; or for certain national security or intelligence activities. If you are involved in a legal matter, we may be ordered to provide your health information to a court or other party. In those cases, only the specific health information required by law, subpoena, or court order will be disclosed.

Public health and safety entities: We are also permitted to disclose your health information for certain purposes that have been determined to benefit the public as a whole. For example, we may disclose your health information to the Food and Drug Administration, to your local public health department, or to law enforcement agencies if the disclosure will prevent or control disease, or prevent a serious threat to the health and safety of an individual or the public.

The Department of Health and Human Services: We are required to disclose your health information to the Department of Health and Human Services, at its request, so it may investigate complaints and review our compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Standards.

Your privacy rights

Riverpoint Pharmacy is committed to complying with the HIPAA Privacy Standards while providing you with all the information you need to make informed decisions about your healthcare. The following describes your privacy rights under the HIPAA Privacy Standards:

The right to request your Riverpoint Pharmacy personal health information (PHI): You may request a copy of your PHI maintained by Riverpoint Pharmacy. The Riverpoint Pharmacy PHI is information about you, including basic demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services, including your prescriptions filled at Riverpoint Pharmacy.

The right to request amendments to your Riverpoint Pharmacy PHI: You may request changes to the PHI we have on file. However, we are not required to honor your request if, for example, the information you want to amend is accurate and complete. When requesting an amendment, you must provide a reason to support your request.

The right to request an "accounting of disclosures": You may request a list or accounting of the nonroutine disclosures of your health information that we have made. Examples may include disclosures to a court or government agency, to a public health and safety entity, for research, or to the Department of Health and Human Services. You may receive one accounting per year free of charge. For additional requests within a one-year period, we may impose a reasonable fee.

The right to request a copy of this Notice: You may request a copy of this Notice at any time.

The right to request restrictions: You may request restrictions on how we use and disclose your health information, and whether we disclose your health information to family members or others involved in your care. We are not required to agree to those restrictions.

The right to request "confidential communications" of your health information: You may request that we send your health information to an address that is different than your family address (for example, your work address).
To exercise any of your privacy rights, please put your request in writing and mail it to Riverpoint Pharmacy at 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd, Ste 142, Spokane, WA, 99202-1665. To ensure the accuracy of your report, the request must include the following information: your name, full address, date of birth, and telephone number.

Riverpoint Pharmacy's responsibilities

We are required by the HIPAA Privacy Standards to maintain the privacy and security of your health information. We must obey all of the applicable conditions of the HIPAA Privacy Standards and only use and disclose your health information as allowed by law. We are required to provide you with this Notice and to abide by the privacy practices outlined in this Notice. Riverpoint Pharmacy reserves the right to change a privacy practice described in this Notice and to make the new privacy practice effective for all health information that we maintain. If we need to make a material change to this Notice, you will receive a new Notice by mail.

Protecting your health information

Because protecting your health information is important to us, we have made significant investments in technologies that protect your health information from unauthorized uses and disclosures. We restrict access to your health information to those members of the Riverpoint Pharmacyworkforce who need this information to continue providing the prescription services that you need. We make your privacy a priority. To that end, we have trained and educated members of our workforce about the meaning and requirements of our privacy practices and their role in complying with the HIPAA Privacy Standards.

Privacy complaints

If you have any concerns about our privacy practices, or if you feel your privacy rights have been compromised, you have the right to file a complaint with the Privacy Officer at Riverpoint Pharmacy, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Ste .142, Spokane, WA, 99202-1665, or with the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Please be assured that if you file a privacy complaint, your complaint will be handled in a professional manner, and you will not be subject to any type of penalty for filing the complaint.

Questions?

At We at Riverpoint Pharmacy want to make it easy for you to make informed healthcare decisions. If you have any questions about this Notice or our privacy practices as they relate to your use of our services, you may call us at (509) 343-6252 or (888) 550-1566.