Confidentiality for Domestic Violence Victims
Please note: The below documents are posted in PDF format. To view and print these documents, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free download which is available by clicking here.
HIPAA Compliance
- HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enacted by Congress and signed into law in August 1996. Title I of the act primarily addressed the protection of health insurance coverage when an individual changed or lost their job.
Title II of the act includes Administrative Simplification provisions which includes:- Electronic health transaction standards and code sets – The implementation of a national standard for transmitting health data electronically and the use of standard code sets that describe diseases, injuries and other health problems.
- Unique identifiers – A system that uses one identification number per employer, health plan or payer and health care provider to simplify administration.
- Security – The safeguard for the storage, access and transmission of electronic patient information.
- Privacy – Limits the use or disclosure of protected health information to a minimum necessary standard. Provides the right to see and get copies of records, request amendments to records and learn details of certain disclosures of their records.
The Act has been implemented through regulations. The below timeline reflects the implementation of the various components of HIPAA:
Date Deadline August 1996 HIPAA Signed into Law April 2003 Effective Date of the HIPAA Privacy Rule October 2003 Electronic Health Care Transactions and Code Sets April 2005 Effective Date of the HIPAA Security Rule March 2006 Effective Date of the HIPAA Breach Enforcement Rule May 2008 National Provider Identifier September 2009 Effective date of the Breach Notification Rule January 2012 Electronic Health Care Transactions and Code Sets – 5010 March 2013 Effective Date of the Final Omnibus Rule October 2013 Electronic Health Care Transactions and Code Sets – ICD-10 What is Versant Health doing about HIPAA?
Versant Health is fully committed to maintaining the highest levels of security and privacy for its members, providers and clients while ensuring adherence to all applicable Federal and State laws and regulations. Versant Health is fully compliant with all HIPAA Title II rules as defined above and has established a department that can respond to your questions or provide additional information:
Privacy Office
P.O. Box 1416
Latham, NY 12110-1416
Phone: 1 (800) 571-3366
Fax: 1 (866) 999-4640
Email: privacy@versanthealth.comWant to learn more about HIPAA?
The following web link will take you from the Davis Vision website to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services page that contains information regarding HIPAA and the Administrative Simplification Act. The website address is: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Administrative-Simplification/HIPAA-ACA/index.html
Online Privacy Policy
At Davis Vision, Inc. (“Davis Vision”), we take the issue of privacy very seriously. We want to assure visitors to our website that their information is secure and maintained in confidence. Please read through the following pages carefully.
I. Information Collected
A. General
How you use the Davis Vision website or mobile application will determine whether or not we need to collect information from you, and how much information we collect.
The two ways you can use the website are as a:
- Visitor— if you are casually browsing our website or mobile application and do not enter a User ID and Password issued by Davis Vision, you are a Visitor.
- Subscriber/Member— if you subscribe to Davis Vision products and have a User ID and Password, you are a Subscriber/Member.
Davis Vision does not collect any personal information from Visitors. However, Visitors may voluntarily supply information in the form of an online feedback form or in an e-mail. Personally identifiable information voluntarily provided by you may be retained indefinitely for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice.
If you choose to become a Subscriber/Member, we may request basic personal information (for example, your name and e-mail address).
Davis Vision already has access to the information collected and compares the information on the Davis Vision enrollment files to the information presented by the user to verify membership and authenticate the user.
If disclosures of any personal information are made outside of this authentication and verification process, the information is not required and the user may choose to omit the information. If disclosures are made, it is done within the parameters of applicable state and federal laws and regulations. The information collected is used only for the purpose in which it was provided. Personally identifiable information voluntarily provided by you may be retained indefinitely for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice.
Any and all changes to personally identifiable information that is used on the Davis Vision Member website or mobile application must be made through the appropriate enrollment update process or processes. Updates are neither accepted nor processed through the Member website.
B. Email and Product Inquiry
Davis Vision invites Visitors and Subscribers/Members to send e-mail messages to Davis Vision regarding website or mobile application activities and Davis Vision products or services. Davis Vision retains copies of these e-mail messages, but does not disclose e-mail messages to any third parties.
The information provided by a Visitor through the use of a feedback form will only be used by representatives who need to view this information to respond to the Visitor’s inquiry and to provide better customer service.
C. Use of Cookies
A cookie is a small piece of information about an internet session that may be created when an individual accesses a website. Davis Vision’s website and mobile application, and certain sites it provides links to, use cookies to facilitate easier navigation within the sites and provide a higher level of convenience for users.
Cookies can contain a variety of information, including the name of the website that issued them, where on the site the user visited, passwords and even user names and credit card numbers that have been supplied via forms. Note that most Web browsers can be modified by the user to prevent cookies from being attached to the user.
D. Use of Information Gathering Software
Davis Vision does not : deploy software that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge; send such information to another entity without the consumer’s consent ; assert control over a computer without the consumers’ knowledge; or utilize software that inconspicuously requests the user’s approval to collect information which does not provide an easy way for the user to opt-out.
II. Use of Information Collected
All information submitted by any individual to Davis Vision may be retained to provide a record of such communications and to comply with any applicable legal and/or regulatory requirements. In addition:
- Visitors – Davis Vision uses information submitted by Visitors to its websites and mobile application only to respond to the inquiries and needs of those Visitors and to provide improved customer service.
- Subscribers/Members – Davis Vision uses Subscribers/Members personally identifiable information, including medical data, collected by Davis Vision only for the purpose of providing vision care products and services to Subscribers/Members, unless the Subscriber/Member specifically grants permission to Davis Vision to use the information for additional purposes.
- Subscriber/Member information may also be “cleansed” by Davis Vision (stripped of any information which could identify you personally, such as your name or e-mail addresses), aggregated with other data, and used for general research, marketing, or other purposes without permission, but only in non-individually identifiable forms.
- Use of Information Collected for Promotional Activities
- Davis Vision does not use information submitted by users of the Davis Vision website for promotional purposes, without the express consent of the user.
- Davis Vision reserves the right to display promotional materials on the Davis Vision website and mobile application.
III. Access to Information Collected
A. Associates
Certain Davis Vision associates may be provided with Visitor, Subscriber/Member information in order to respond to the individual’s needs and provide requested information regarding specific products or services. Davis Vision associates are required, by written confidentiality agreements and corporate policies, to maintain the confidentiality of personal information and to use strict standards of care in handling the information of Davis Vision Visitors and Subscribers/Members. Associates who do not conform to these confidentiality requirements are subject to disciplinary sanctions that include dismissal.
B. Davis Vision Affiliates and Service Providers
Davis Vision may disclose personal information of its Visitors and Subscribers/Members to affiliates. Such information will be disclosed to respond to the individual’s needs and to provide information about products or services offered by Davis Vision affiliates. Personal information is treated with the same standards of confidentiality that Davis Vision uses. Davis Vision affiliates are subject to Davis Vision’s corporate policies and Davis Vision’s non-related service providers are legally bound by contract to employ at least the same strict standards of confidentiality as employed by Davis Vision.
C. Third Parties
Other than as set forth under B above, Davis Vision does not transmit any personal information collected through its websites or mobile application to any third party, including employers, without the consent of the individual. However, personal information may be transmitted if there is a specific need to complete a transaction requested by the individual.
IV. Compliance Assurance
A. Security
Davis Vision uses commercially reasonable computer security technology selected and implemented to ensure adherence to the security and privacy policies described in this online posting.
B. Account Access
Davis Vision grants access to personal information only to those associates, affiliates and third parties as required to provide vision care products and services, or as permitted with your consent.
V. Questions and Concerns
If you have questions about this policy, or concerns regarding your personal information, please send us your question by clicking Contact Us on any of our web pages, or contact a customer service representative at 1 (800) 999-5431.
DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
WITH RESPECT TO DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FROM THIS SERVER, NEITHER DAVIS VISION NOR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES MAKES ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR ASSUMES ANY LEGAL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION, APPARATUS, PRODUCT, OR PROCESS DISCLOSED, OR REPRESENTS THAT ITS USE WOULD NOT INFRINGE PRIVATELY OWNED RIGHTS. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THIS WEB SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. DAVIS VISION SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONTENT FOUND ON THIS WEB PAGE, NOR DOES DAVIS VISION MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THIS WEB PAGE OR AS TO THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THIS WEB PAGE. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM THE WEB PAGE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY CONTENT DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THIS WEB PAGE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF SUCH CONTENT.
Last Revision Date: August 8, 2011
Privacy Forms and Practices
The Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, commonly known as HIPAA, include new rules that seek to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system. A portion of HIPAA, referred to as the Privacy Rule, establishes a national standard for the collection, maintenance, access, use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information. Individually identifiable health information is considered to be protected health information. In addition, there are several individual rights that are defined in the Privacy Rule.
This Notice of Privacy Practices reflects our commitment to protecting your individually identifiable health information.
If you have questions or comments related to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, the Notice of Privacy Practices includes the Davis Vision Privacy Office contact information.
Please note: The below documents are posted in PDF format. To view and print these documents, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free download which is available by clicking here.
