Notice of Privacy Practices

HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES FOR EQUIP HEALTH MEDICAL PC (A CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION) AND OTHER EQUIP HEALTH MEDICAL ENTITIES WHO PARTICIPATE TOGETHER IN AN ORGANIZED HEALTH CARE ARRANGEMENT Effective date: 01/02/2025 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.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) provides standards for how medical information should be used and disclosed by healthcare providers, health plans, and other covered entities. Equip Health Medical PC (A California Professional Corporation) and other Equip Health medical entities, along with any independent contracted affiliates (collectively known as “Equip Health Medical”, “we”, “our” or “us”) is a health care provider that both directly delivers health care services through its employees, including licensed health care providers, to deliver health care services. We provide each of our users with this information and ask each of our users to acknowledge receipt of our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices for Equip Health Medical, which discloses our practices for personal information gathering and dissemination. Please note that by registering on the website (the “Site”) or by using the services provided by Equip Health Medical, you accept the practices described in this Notice of Privacy Practices. If you do not agree to this Notice, please do not use the Site or Equip Health services.

What information do we collect from users and how is it used?

Registration. Before using some of our services, we need you to register with the Site and provide your name, email address, a password, and other personal details. We request this information for identification purposes, to communicate with you, and to improve the functioning of certain services. By providing us with your email address, you consent to receiving information from us through the email you provide us, including protected health information which is private to you and protected by HIPAA. For more information on the information we collect, you can also review our Terms of Use here and our privacy policy here. You may also be asked to complete other forms (e.g. intake forms, informed consent, etc.) depending on the services you choose.
Forms. To fully use our offerings, you may need to fill out forms that ask for or contain personal information such as your name, contact information, health, and other personal information. By providing us with your mobile phone number, you consent to receiving information from us by text or voicemail, including in the case of voicemail, protected health information.
Medical Records. In order for us to get you the best care, we may ask you to provide us with your medical records. We may also ask you for a description of symptoms, a medical history, lifestyle descriptions and information on the progress of your treatment from your provider either over the phone, by email, or through our Site. We will maintain records from your care, treatment, and services with Equip Health Medical and retain such records in accordance with state laws and regulations as well as internal policy.
Recordings. If you interact with our care team by videoconference, phone or by email, we may record and retain copies of the interaction for, among other things, ongoing quality assurance, training, and development of our services. If you access any apps or other services we offer, we may record your interactions with our software or our providers. We will inform you if we are recording your interactions with our care team or providers and, if you do not wish to be recorded, you can let the care team or provider know at that time. We may retain some information from the interactions in a fully de-identified and anonymized format for longer than 30 days for ongoing quality assurance, training, and development of our services.
Outcomes. We may periodically send you surveys to collect your feedback on the outcomes of your therapy. Understanding outcomes is central to our mission of providing effective, evidence-based care, and data can help inform Equip Health Medical’s approach to treatment and assessment of progress. In addition, Equip Health Medical uses aggregated, de-identified outcomes data to provide health plans with insight into how their members are responding to our services. We anonymize and convert individual outcome scores into improvement levels, and then aggregate those in reporting across an entire population. We will store the above described categories of information for as long as needed to provide our services, and as required to comply with our legal obligations (including those under HIPAA), resolve potential or actual disputes, improve the quality of our services, or enforce our agreements.

How does Equip Health Medical use and disclose protected health information about you that we collect? Equip Health Medical will collect protected health information (“PHI”), which includes but may not be limited to your name, age, gender, contact information, problems you are seeking help for, and progress and outcomes of your treatment, from you and will use or share it for the following purposes:

Treatment. We can use your PHI and share it with other professionals or programs that are treating you, such as when you are referred to another mental health professional for further treatment. By using our services, you hereby explicitly consent to the sharing of information like your name, age, gender, problems you are seeking help for, including alcohol and substance use, care preferences, health plan coverage, and progress of your treatment with current and potential providers to promote good outcomes.
Organization Operations. We can use and share your PHI to support our business operations, that is to run our organization, improve our offerings to clients, improve your care and the coordination of your care, and contact you when necessary, such as using your PHI to manage your treatment and services. We may also use de-identified information that we retain for these purposes.
Billing and Payment. We may use and share your PHI to confirm eligibility for services and to ensure proper payment to providers. For example, we may request your information from your health plan or employer in order to confirm eligibility for services.
Other Uses. We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: “Your Rights Under HIPAA”. The following are ways we may share your information:
Other Uses. We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: “Your Rights Under HIPAA”. The following are ways we may share your information:
Help with public health and safety issues: We can share health information about you for certain situations such as reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence; preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety; reporting adverse reactions to medications; preventing disease; and helping with product recalls .
Comply with the law: We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
Respond to organ and tissue donation requests: We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
Work with a medical examiner or funeral director: We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.
Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests: We can use or share health information about you for workers’ compensation claims; for law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official; with health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law; for special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions: We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

You have both the right and the choice to tell us to share your PHI with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care or share your PHI in a disaster relief situation. If you are not able to tell us your preference, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We will never share your PHI, unless you give us written permission to, for marketing purposes or for sale of your information, and except as permitted by law. You may revoke or restrict the authorization to disclose your PHI for these purposes at any time by emailing compliance@equip.health. Equip Health Medical reserves the right to release collected information to law enforcement or other government officials, as we, in our sole and absolute discretion, deem necessary or appropriate.

What are your rights regarding your protected health information? You have certain rights regarding protected health information that we maintain about you, including rights to:

Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record. You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. To request a copy of your records, send an email to healthinformation@equip.health. We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request.
Ask us to correct your medical and other records. You can ask us to correct health or other information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. To request that we correct your records, send an email to compliance@equip.health and we will provide the appropriate forms and process. We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.
Request confidential communications. You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address. We will say, “yes” to all reasonable requests.
Ask us to limit what we use or share. You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information. You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for 6 years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why. We will include all disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
Get 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.
Choose someone to act for you. If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated. You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by selecting “Complaint” on our HIPAA Rights Form here. You can also 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 “What to Expect”. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

What are Equip Health Medical’s responsibilities with my information? We are required by federal law (HIPAA) and state law (e.g. CMIA in California) to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information. We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your protected health information. We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it. 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. For more information see: “Notice of Privacy Practices”.

How will I know about changes in the Notice of Privacy Practices? Equip Health Medical reserves the right to update this Notice of Privacy Practices from time to time. Please visit this page periodically so that you will be apprised of any changes. The policies indicated in this Notice will remain effective, even if you are no longer using our Site or services. At times, Equip Health Medical may work with a third party contracted provider to deliver services to you. To the extent that there is a conflict between Equip Health Medical’s Notice of Privacy Practices and that of a third party contracted provider regarding how your PHI will be handled, the Notice of Privacy Practices that is more restrictive regarding the use, access and disclosure of your PHI will apply.

How to contact us? If you have questions, or need to reach us for any other reason, you may contact the Compliance Department at compliance@equip.health.

Last Updated and Effective: January 02, 2025