Privacy, Authorization, and Waivers
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) is a federal law requiring health information privacy and security for patients. Other medical privacy laws exist requiring health information privacy and security for patients. Client health information gathered on the Alcure telehealth platform is maintained in a secure cloud storage environment that meets HIPAA requirements.
Information gathered, stored, and transmitted may contain Protected Health Information ("PHI") as defined by HIPAA or other medical privacy laws as the content may reference your identity and treatment for alcohol use disorder, prior or existing medical conditions, coaching or counseling and the use of prescription medication.
The Alcure telehealth platform sends emails to email accounts that may contain PHI, such as but not limited to calendaring links, video chat links, or direct email messages. Emails with PHI may also be sent to Alcure Business Associates affiliated with Alcure for the purpose of assisting in providing patient care. Calendaring appointments are set up through a third-party app that maintains information in a secure and encrypted manner. Payments are processed through a third-party app that maintains information in a secure and encrypted manner. Prescriptions are sent electronically through a third-party electronic prescribing platform that meets HIPAA requirements. Email sent from and received by Alcure is maintained in a secure cloud storage environment that meets HIPAA requirements but may be unencrypted in transit. The apps Alcure uses for calendaring, payment processing and electronic prescribing are conduits of PHI and receive incidental disclosure of PHI to facilitate patient care. Alcure has taken reasonable measures to assure protection and privacy regarding the use of these apps to include, but not limited to, verification of appropriate encryption technology and only minimum and necessary incidental use of PHI.
Under HIPAA and other medical privacy laws, and to optimize the use of the Alcure telehealth platform, by consenting below you opt-in to emails being sent to and from your free, consumer email account such as, but not limited to, Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail, or another similar unsecured or unencrypted email account, which may contain PHI. You also opt-in to emails being sent to Alcure's Business Associates assisting in providing patient care that may utilize similar unsecured or unencrypted email accounts that may also contain PHI. Though typically low, there is a risk that emails sent to the above-described accounts could be read by a third person as these types of accounts generally do not protect against third person intrusion beyond standard account username and password requirements. Alcure is not responsible for safeguarding information once delivered to any of the above email accounts. If you do not wish to opt-in for unencrypted email being sent to email accounts as described above, do not continue with signup.
Providers may invite you to communicate via text messaging between your cell phone and his or her cell phone. Text messaging, while meeting reasonable privacy standards, is generally not encrypted to HIPAA or other medical privacy law standards and text messaging providers such as, but not limited to, telecommunication companies may store the information and have not signed any Business Associate Agreement with Alcure to maintain the privacy of PHI. Similarly, providers may invite you to communicate verbally by telephone between your cell phone and his or her cell phone, or via landline on either end. Verbal telephone communications, while meeting reasonable privacy standards, are also generally not encrypted to HIPAA or other medical privacy law standards and telecommunication companies furnishing verbal telephone communication services may store caller related information and have not signed any Business Associate Agreement with Alcure to maintain the privacy of PHI. If you initiate or accept an invitation to text or speak by telephone with a provider, you are explicitly waiving any HIPAA or other medical privacy regulations regarding that mode of communication.
Alcure program tutorials and courses may be hosted on a platform requiring access by creating a username and password that will involve providing your name and email address. Your name and email address are considered PHI. The hosting platform, while providing reasonable security and privacy, does not meet all HIPAA requirements. The hosting platform will use your name and email address to enable content access, track video watch time and other metrics. Alcure may use your name and email address, and other PHI, to create email messaging directly to you to facilitate treatment or for marketing purposes using the tutorial and courses hosting platform or another platform or application that does not meet all HIPAA requirements.
You may refuse to provide authorization and waiver regarding disclosure of PHI under any of the circumstances described above. If you refuse authorization or waiver do not continue with signup.
You may also revoke authorization and waiver at any time in the future but doing so will prevent us from serving you and, in that event, we will cancel your enrollment and refer you to a source to find an alternate provider. Each authorization and waiver identified above will remain in effect indefinitely unless and until you revoke authorization and waiver. Please send all revocations and related inquiries by email to support@alcure.me.
Alcure Facebook group
You may access our Facebook group called ALCURE. The group is public, and anyone can join it and view its content. The group offers general information related to excess drinking and alcohol use disorder and may offer peer support. Anyone may comment or post in the Facebook group.
Facebook group comments and postings are not protected by HIPAA or other medical privacy laws. By participating in the Facebook group, you consent to waiver of all medical privacy requirements of any jurisdiction applicable to the disclosure of any past, present, or future PHI, and requirements for third parties facilitating the Facebook group to safeguard user related information or comply with any requirements regarding protection or use of PHI.
Because the Facebook group is public, there is a risk for PHI redisclosure under these circumstances. You should not disclose any personal information or comments in the Alcure Facebook group that you would not be comfortable sharing in public.
All data in any form, to include but not limited to comments, questions, videos, podcasts, slide-presentations, photographs, charts, and all other information of any kind and in any format provided by group moderators, administrators, and persons acting on behalf of Alcure within or associated with the Facebook group, including but not limited to Alcure providers, affiliated consultants, guests or any other participant is for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is not intended to be, nor should it be relied upon or construed as medical, counseling, or coaching advice. Interactions, comments, postings, and other information by persons acting on behalf of Alcure do not create a doctor-patient or mental health provider-patient relationship, counseling or coaching relationship, fiduciary, or any other legal relationship. Also, information provided by other group users should not be construed as medical or mental health care advice, or counseling or coaching advice.
You may never embarrass, humiliate, haze, intimidate, or abuse in any way another group user. The group is meant to facilitate ongoing education, support and positive interactions between all users and comments, questions, or any other information you provide in the group should be relevant to the purpose of the group. All group moderators, administrators, and persons acting on behalf of Alcure reserve the right to delete any comments, questions or data posted by you or any other user for any reason and to remove you or any other user from the group temporarily or permanently.
Alcure does not manage emergencies
Please keep in mind that we are not set up to manage a medical urgency or emergency. If you are experiencing a medical or mental health urgency or emergency, call 911 immediately or immediately visit your nearest hospital emergency department.
Possible prescription reporting by a pharmacy
Alcure does not report patient enrollment to anyone unless requested to by the patient or if legally required. The pharmacy filling a prescription from one of our medical providers may report the prescription to one or more central computer databases, though, and unfortunately it is not something we have control over.
The medical insurance industry uses centralized computer databases to track patient prescriptions, mostly for controlled substances such as opioid-based pain medication to prevent "doctor shopping" and to increase patient safety. Naltrexone, almost always prescribed by our medical providers on the Alcure platform, is a non-controlled, non-addictive substance with a high patient safety index, so it is less likely to be reported, though naltrexone is associated with treating alcohol and opioid misuse and may be reported by some pharmacies for that reason. Other types of insurers, such as life insurers may gain access to similar databases to determine the health history of an insured or applicant for insurance. Alcure cannot guarantee against prescription reporting by a pharmacy and, should you have any concerns, we recommend you contact the pharmacy you plan to use in advance and ask the pharmacist in charge whether it will report a prescription of any medication your Alcure medical provide will supply.
Miscellaneous
If you will use a desktop or laptop computer, or mobile device provided by an employer or another person or entity to access services on the Alcure telehealth platform or access the Facebook group, there is a risk that your use of the Alcure platform or Facebook group may be monitored, especially through monitoring software used by many employers. To enhance privacy, you should only use a desktop or laptop computer, or mobile device, that you own, and which is username and password protected, and to always log out after use.
This entire privacy and waiver section is deemed to include all information provided within the client signup questionnaire, including your name and other identifying information as entered into the questionnaire. It further incorporates in its entirety the Alcure terms of use and privacy as posted via hyperlink at the bottom of each page of the alcure.me website at the time you complete this form and as periodically updated.