HIPAA-Compliance & Patient Health Information
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. For everyday people, HIPAA means that you have the right to keep your personal health information (PHI) private.
e-Consult My Doctor products and services make it easy for you to securely manage your information and we take care of that for you in a HIPAA-compliant manner.
HIPAA – Common Questions & Answers
Question: Who has access to my personal health information (PHI) information now?
Answer: The doctors and nurses who are involved in your care. Additionally, your health insurance carrier also has access to your PHI.
Question: Does my insurance carrier have access to all my information?
Answer: Yes, you permit your insurance to have access to your PHI when you purchase health insurance.
Question: If I use e-Consult My Doctor, will this service have access to my personal health information (PHI)?
Answer: Yes, patients who use e-Consult My Doctor must make relevant PHI or personal health record (PHR) information available in order to engage in any electronic consultations with their doctor(s). This is no different from providing that same kind of information when you see your doctor at the clinic office or visit other healthcare professionals at Urgent/Acute care, emergency room, or hospital settings. Healthcare personnel need that information to make an accurate assessment of your health concerns. Your truthful, accurate, and complete disclosure of your PHI is just as important when using our service. And, as with other healthcare settings, your information is managed privately and securely.
Question: What does the service do with my personal health information (PHI)? How will it be secure?
Answer: Our fully HIPAA-compliant technology will manage your PHI securely and privately using industry best practices for data encryption on your mobile app. Your information will be exclusively transmitted in a secure manner between only you and your doctor.
Third Party Advertisers & e-Consult My Doctor
The e-Consult My Doctor service fully explains in our privacy policy how we may offer depersonalized advertising and offers to you in accordance to HIPAA regulations. You are not obligated to accept any of these offers at any time.
At the free “Basic” subscription level, non-specific banner advertising is required for app service participation to help offset the costs incurred in delivery of our service to you and your doctor. However, this advertising is not associated with your personal health information.
At the “Premium” subscription level, advertisements do not appear in the e-Consult My Doctor mobile app.
Additionally, you may “opt out” at any time from receiving ads while using e-Consult My Doctor. Advertisers will never have your personally identifiable contact information (name, date of birth, address, email, mobile number) in association with your PHR. Further, advertisers who do deliver ads to you through e-Consult My Doctor will never be able to associate your personal health information with the ads you receive or respond to.