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PAMFOnline Privacy and Security PolicyTable of Contents:
The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), a Sutter Health affiliate, is committed to providing you with quality health care and fostering a relationship built on trust. This trust is built, in part, on our commitment to respect the privacy and confidentiality of your medical information. PAMF has put into place detailed policies and procedures regarding access to all health records by our staff and employees. We have also carefully outlined the circumstances under which your medical information may be released to parties outside the organization in compliance with state and federal laws. We comply fully with the privacy provisions of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). You can review our Notice of Health Information Privacy Practices here. Visitor Tracking Software PAMF keeps track of visits to our Web site via an automatic monitoring program that tells us, among other things, how many visits are made to the site; the time of day and date of those visits; and which areas of the Web site individuals visited. The monitoring program does not provide us with any personal information about a visitor. We cannot discern your name or physical address or other personal information about you. This information is used to evaluate the effectiveness of our site. Web Logs The visitor tracking software gathers this information from standard Web logs that store this information on servers at Sutter Health. These logs may contain the Internet domain from which you access the site; the date and time you visited our site; the areas of our site that you viewed; your computer’s IP address that is automatically assigned when you log onto the Internet; the type of browser and operating system you use; and the address of the Web site you linked from, if any. All Web logs are stored securely and may only be accessed by PAMF employees or designees on a professional need-to-know basis for a specific purpose. PAMF uses Web log information to help us design our Web site; identify popular features; resolve user, hardware and software problems; and make the site more useful to patients and other visitors. Internet Cookies PAMF may place Internet "cookies" on the computer hard drives of visitors to our Web site. Cookies help us obtain information about your use of our Web site; they do not contain information about you or your health history. PAMF uses two types of cookies: "session" cookies and "persistent" cookies. A session cookie is temporary and expires after you end a session and close a Web browser. We may use session cookies to help customize visitors’ experiences on our site, maintain a signed-on status while exploring the site and track which Web pages visitors view on our site. On the other hand, persistent cookies remain on your hard drive. For instance, we use a persistent cookie when we ask you to agree to the use of the Multum Drug Guide so that when you return to the guide, you do not need to go through the agreement page again. Persistent cookies will not contain any personal information about you. You may not be able to use or view some features of PAMF’s Web site if you decline or deactivate Internet cookies. For instructions on how to remove cookies from your hard drive, go to your browser's Web site for detailed instructions. In addition, further information regarding cookies may be available from your Internet service provider. Collecting and Using Personal Information PAMF does collect identifiable information about individuals who visit our Web sites in the following ways: E-mails PAMF uses a third-party vendor to manage and send e-mail newsletters to our patients and others who have requested to be put on our distribution lists. PAMF stores these e-mail addresses on their server. However, this address is never used for any other purpose than to communicate with you. We also do not link your e-mail address to any other personal health information you’ve given us. When you register, change your preferences or receive a newsletter, you will be redirected to their server. PAMF never shares any information, other than your e-mail address, with the vendor, which is not allowed to share your e-mail address with anyone else. All newsletters offered by PAMF are by voluntary subscription only. You may cancel your subscription to a newsletter at anytime by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link found on the newsletter or other e-mail that you receive. Links within newsletters are coded to track statistical data about the use of our e-mails, such as how many people have opened our newsletter. This tracking provides us with information on the usefulness of our communications. Messages PAMF’s Web sites contain forms for comments, questions and referrals to certain services. These forms make use of Cold Fusion technology to send e-mails to certain PAMF staff members who are able to address your needs. These forms should not, however, be used to transmit personal health information or to seek diagnosis for a personal condition. We are not able to respond via e-mail to such inquires. PAMFOnline Personal Health Record About PAMFOnline’s Privacy and Security Policy PAMF, a Sutter Health affiliate, is committed to providing you with quality health care and to maintaining a relationship with you that is built on trust. This trust is built, in part, on our commitment to respect the privacy and confidentiality of your medical information. PAMF has put into place detailed policies and procedures regarding access to all health records by our staff and employees and has carefully outlined the circumstances under which your medical information may be released to parties outside the organization. These policies conform to state and federal law and with the privacy provisions of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Click here for more details on PAMFOnline security measures. PAMF staff and employees are trained in PAMF’s confidentiality policies and the appropriate use of medical information. They know that such information is available to them only as necessary to provide care to you or for other authorized, legitimate reasons. PAMF’s electronic health record (EHR) system can track the activity of each user of the system and can generate an audit trail of activity. Every time a user accesses the EHR, the user’s identity is recorded along with a record of the information that was viewed or entered. A PAMF employee’s violation of confidentiality policies is considered a serious offense. Failure of an employee to protect patient information from accidental or unauthorized access is subject to sanctions. Accessing Your Online Health Record At the current time, we request a limited set of identifying information from you in order to grant access to the Web site and to customize your experience. We will not intentionally disclose any personal identification information that might identify you, such as your full name, street address, telephone number, credit card number or e-mail address to any third party other than as allowed by the provisions of State and Federal Regulations. Electronic Messaging PAMFOnline is an Internet application that enables secure Web-based electronic messaging. Messages you send via PAMFOnline are incorporated in your permanent health record. Once it is made part of your record, it will be accessible to current and future PAMF staff members who are appropriately involved with your care. If your PAMF physician is out of the office or unavailable to respond, messages sent via PAMFOnline may be routed to other authorized health care providers within PAMF in order to facilitate a timely response to your request or question. All communications between you and your PAMF healthcare team are carried over a secure, encrypted connection directly into PAMF’s EHR. PAMF will only use the secure PAMFOnline messaging service for electronic communication. While you may receive Internet e-mail messages notifying you of new messages in your PAMFOnline Inbox, these e-mails will not contain any personal health information. It is extremely important that you keep your PAMFOnline ID and password that you use to access PAMFOnline completely confidential. Anyone with access to your PAMFOnline ID and password will be able to assume your online identity and view your medical information, add comments to your record, and communicate with your PAMF health care team. It is your responsibility to prevent disclosure of your PAMFOnline ID and password and to change your PAMFOnline ID and password if you feel that their security has been compromised. You can change your password by logging into PAMFOnline and clicking the Change Password link. If you have any questions regarding the security of your password, please call the PAMFOnline Department at (650) 330-5858. Contents of Electronic Messages While the PAMFOnline system supports many different types of communication, it is always best for you and your health care provider to agree on the type of electronic communication that is most appropriate in your particular case. All PAMF-generated EHR content is subject to all state and federal statutes governing the security and confidentiality of health records. Surveys You may occasionally be asked to complete patient surveys via PAMFOnline. PAMF and Sutter Health may analyze information submitted via PAMFOnline as part of descriptive (demographic) studies and reports. In such cases, all patient-identifying information will be removed. Review & Purpose of Health Content Review of Content PAMF‘s Web Content Committee is comprised of physicians, nurses, pharmacists and senior administrators who review clinical content created by PAMF for our Web site. It is the responsibility of this committee to review health information found on pamf.org and links to outside information. Content Created by Individual Health Care Professionals at PAMF Our site does contain content that has been created or written by individual health care professionals at PAMF, including answers to frequently asked questions, blogs, other written material or content of streaming audio lectures. This content is the opinion of the author(s) and not necessarily that of your health care provider, the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation or Sutter Health. This information is provided for your general information and education only, and should not be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. Purpose of Health Content All health-related information provided via PAMF’s Web site is intended to educate and inform visitors about illnesses, conditions and ways to maintain optimum health. While we try to keep the information as accurate as possible, we disclaim any implied warranty or representation about its accuracy or completeness. The reader assumes full responsibility for using the information on this site. PAMF is neither responsible nor liable for any claim, loss or damage resulting from the use of information on this site. It is not intended to diagnose personal physical conditions and is not a substitute for consultation with one's own personal health care provider or in lieu of seeking emergency services. Policy Concerning Links to Outside Web Sites PAMF’s Web site has numerous links to outside Internet pages, which might have information on health topics of interest to you. PAMF, however, does not sponsor or endorse any of these sites, nor does PAMF make any guarantee, warranty or representation regarding the accuracy of the information contained on the Web sites. In addition, PAMF has no control over the privacy or security practices of external Web sites. The user should read and understand the policies of all Web sites with respect to these practices. These links are provided for your general information and education only, and should NOT be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. If you have questions, please contact your health care provider. Healthwise Knowledgebase PAMF’s Web site contains a health encyclopedia, Reuter’s Health, and a drug reference guide containing health information and education material provided by Healthwise. You can learn more about the Healthwise Knowledgebase by reading our Use of Healthwise Knowledgebase. Revisions to the Privacy Policy As state and federal laws change, and as we add new features to our Web site, PAMF may periodically revise our Privacy Statement. If changes are made, the date (month, day and year) the Privacy Statement was last revised will be updated accordingly. Any revision of this statement will apply to all information we already have about you at the time of the change and any personal information that is gathered about you after this time. We encourage you to regularly review the Privacy Policy to see if there have been changes made that affect the use of your personal information. Questions, Concerns and Contact Information Please do not include any confidential communication, such as health information, in any e-mail to us. E-mail is not encrypted and may be accessed and viewed without your or our knowledge or permission while in transit to us through the Internet. Questions, concerns or suggestions about the content of pamfonline.org can be directed to pamfonline@pamf.org. Comments or questions will be routed to the appropriate individual within the organization. You can also contact us via U.S. mail at: Palo Alto Medical Foundation |