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 PreOncology Institute, PA and its physicians, clinicians, employees, workforce members, contractors, and business associates, as applicable.

PreOncology Institute, PA provides clinical medical services as part of the PreOncology Program. Non-clinical management, technology, administrative, and business services may be provided by PreOncology LLC or other affiliated entities. When those entities receive protected health information on behalf of PreOncology Institute, PA, they are required to protect that information as permitted or required by law.

1. Our Legal Duties

We are required by law to:

Maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

Provide you with this Notice describing our legal duties and privacy practices.

Follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect.

Notify you if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your protected health information.

Not use or disclose your protected health information except as described in this Notice or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

Protected health information includes information that identifies you and relates to your past, present, or future health condition, health care, or payment for health care. It may include information in electronic, paper, or verbal form.

2. Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights.

Get an Electronic or Paper Copy of Your Medical Record

You may ask to see or receive an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we maintain about you.

We will provide a copy or summary of your health information, usually within the time required by law. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask Us to Correct Your Medical Record

You may ask us to correct health information about you that you believe is incorrect or incomplete.

We may deny your request in certain circumstances, but we will explain the reason in writing.

Request Confidential Communications

You may ask us to contact you in a specific way, such as by mobile phone, email, patient portal, or mail, or to send communications to a different address.

We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Ask Us to Limit What We Use or Share

You may ask us not to use or disclose certain health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations.

We are not required to agree to your request, except where required by law.

If you pay for a health care item or service out of pocket in full, you may ask us not to share that information with your health insurer for payment or health care operations. We will honor that request unless a law requires us to share the information.

Get a List of Those With Whom We Have Shared Information

You may ask for an accounting of certain disclosures of your health information.

We will include disclosures required by law, but certain disclosures may not be included, such as disclosures for treatment, payment, health care operations, and disclosures you authorized.

Get a Copy of This Notice

You may ask for a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.

You may also access this Notice on our website.

Choose Someone to Act for You

If you have given someone medical power of attorney, or if someone is your legal guardian or personal representative, that person may exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.

We may verify that the person has authority to act for you before taking action.

File a Complaint

You may file a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.

You may file a complaint with us using the contact information at the end of this Notice.

You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

3. Your Choices

For certain health information, you may tell us your choices about what we share.

You Have the Right and Choice to Tell Us To:

Share information with your family, close friends, caregivers, or others involved in your care.

Share information in a disaster relief situation.

Include limited information in communications that help coordinate your care.

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious or unavailable, we may share information if we believe it is in your best interest.

Written Authorization Is Usually Required For:

Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, if applicable.

Most uses and disclosures for marketing purposes.

Sale of protected health information.

Other uses and disclosures not described in this Notice.

You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already relied on it.

4. How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information

We may use and disclose your protected health information in the following ways.

Treatment

We may use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.

Example: We may share your medical history, genetic testing results, laboratory results, imaging reports, cancer risk assessment, or surveillance plan with your primary care physician, genetic counselor, imaging center, laboratory, radiologist, specialist, or other clinician involved in your care.

Payment

We may use and disclose your health information to bill and obtain payment from you, your health plan, or another responsible party.

Example: We may share information with your health plan to support payment for medically necessary follow-up testing, consultations, procedures, or services.

Health Care Operations

We may use and disclose your health information to run our practice, improve care, train staff, support quality assurance, conduct audits, maintain compliance, manage business operations, and contact you when necessary.

Example: We may review member outcomes, signal resolution workflows, care coordination processes, or documentation quality to improve the PreOncology Program.

5. PreOncology-Specific Uses and Disclosures

Because PreOncology Institute, PA provides cancer prevention and early detection services, we may use and disclose your health information for the following program-related purposes, as permitted by law:

Cancer risk assessment.

Precision risk intake and clinical review.

Genetic and genomic interpretation.

Laboratory testing coordination.

Imaging coordination.

Risk-based surveillance planning.

Prevention Care Team consultations.

Signal Board review of abnormal or indeterminate findings.

Referral coordination with your primary care physician or specialists.

Care coordination after abnormal findings.

Documentation of clinical decisions and medical necessity.

Quality improvement and clinical safety review.

Internal model validation, calibration, and performance monitoring, using de-identified, aggregated, or otherwise legally permitted data where appropriate.

We may use clinical decision support tools, computational models, and AI-enabled tools to support clinician review. These tools do not replace physician judgment. Clinical decisions remain subject to review by qualified health care professionals.

6. Genetic and Genomic Information

The PreOncology Program may involve genetic or genomic information, including whole genome sequencing, inherited cancer risk information, polygenic risk information, pharmacogenomic information, or related data.

We treat genetic and genomic information as sensitive health information.

We may use or disclose genetic or genomic information for treatment, payment, health care operations, care coordination, clinical review, laboratory coordination, genetic counseling, and other purposes permitted or required by law.

Most health plans are prohibited under federal law from using or disclosing genetic information for underwriting purposes. CMS notes that most health plans cannot use or disclose genetic information for underwriting purposes.

7. Business Associates

We may share protected health information with business associates who perform services for us, such as technology vendors, cloud service providers, billing vendors, analytics providers, laboratory coordination vendors, imaging coordination vendors, consultants, legal advisors, and other service providers.

Business associates are required to protect your information and use or disclose it only as permitted by law and by their agreements with us.

8. Other Uses and Disclosures Permitted or Required by Law

We may use or disclose your health information when permitted or required by law, including for:

Public health activities.

Disease reporting.

Health oversight activities.

Audits, investigations, inspections, and licensing.

Workers’ compensation.

Law enforcement purposes, when legally required or permitted.

Court or administrative proceedings.

Responding to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process.

Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

Avoiding a serious threat to health or safety.

Organ and tissue donation purposes, if applicable.

Medical examiners, coroners, or funeral directors, if applicable.

Specialized government functions, such as military, national security, or protective services, where applicable.

Research, when permitted by law and subject to required approvals, waivers, authorizations, or de-identification standards.

9. Research, Quality Improvement, and De-Identified Data

We may use and disclose health information for research when permitted by law, including when you have provided written authorization, when an Institutional Review Board or privacy board has approved a waiver, or when information has been de-identified as required by law.

We may use de-identified or aggregated information for research, quality improvement, model development, validation, publication, regulatory submissions, business planning, and clinical performance monitoring.

De-identified information does not identify you personally and is not intended to be re-identified.

10. Substance Use Disorder Records

If PreOncology Institute, PA receives or maintains substance use disorder treatment records that are protected by 42 CFR Part 2, additional protections may apply.

We will handle those records in accordance with applicable federal law.

Recent HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices updates include changes related to the alignment of HIPAA with federal substance use disorder privacy rules.

11. Fundraising

We may contact you for fundraising activities where permitted by law.

You have the right to opt out of fundraising communications.

12. Marketing

We will not use or disclose your protected health information for marketing purposes without your written authorization, except where permitted by law.

13. Sale of Protected Health Information

We will not sell your protected health information without your written authorization, except where permitted by law.

14. Electronic Communications

We may communicate with you by phone, email, text message, patient portal, mail, or other methods you provide or authorize.

Electronic communications may involve risks, including unauthorized access, misdirected messages, or technical failures.

You may request confidential communications or ask us to contact you using a specific method or at a specific location.

15. Website and General Privacy

This Notice applies to protected health information maintained by PreOncology Institute, PA.

Information collected through the PreOncology website may also be governed by the PreOncology Privacy Policy. If information collected through the website becomes part of your medical record or is used by PreOncology Institute, PA to provide clinical care, it may also be protected under this Notice.

16. Changes to This Notice

We may change the terms of this Notice at any time.

The new Notice will apply to all protected health information we maintain, including information created or received before the change.

The current Notice will be posted on our website and available upon request.

17. Questions or Complaints

For questions about this Notice, to exercise your privacy rights, or to file a complaint, contact:

Privacy Officer
PreOncology Institute, PA
Email: [email protected]

You may also file a complaint with:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
Website: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.