VIP Privacy Policy
VIP Computer Systems, Inc. is required by law to maintain the privacy of Protected Health Information ("PHI") and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI. References to "VIP," "we," "us," and "our" include VIP Computer Systems, Inc. and its affiliated covered entities (pharmacies). An affiliated covered entity is a independent retail pharmacy, community health center, county health department, or other business that is designated as a single affiliated covered entity for purposes of compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"). VIP, its employees, and its associated covered entities and their staff who are involved in providing and coordinating health care are all bound to follow the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices ("Notice"). While the VIP Rx Refills mobile app does not store or transmit identifiable PHI, we feel it is important to expressly explain what PHI is, and why the data that our app handles does not fall under this description. In spite of this, VIP and its covered entities are committed to putting rigorous policies and procedures in place that protect your privacy and data security, which the following Notice lays out. All entities listed in the settings section of this mobile app may receive information from this app for the treatment, payment and health care operations of the affiliated covered entities as permitted by HIPAA and this Notice.
PHI is information that may identify you (patient, user) and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition, the provision of health care products and services to you or payment for such services. Because the VIP Rx Refill mobile app does not transmit or store names, addresses, telephone numbers, drug names, or other information that could be used to specifically identify you as a patient of the receiving pharmacy and details of your care thereat, transmissions from the mobile app do not qualify as PHI.
VIP is required to follow the terms of this Notice or any change to it that is in effect. We reserve the right to change our practices and this Notice and to make the new Notice effective for all current or future PHI or sensitive information we maintain. If we do so, the updated Notice will be posted on our website. Upon request, we will provide any revised Notice to you.
What This Notice of Privacy Practices Covers
This Notice of Privacy Practices covers only the use of the VIP Rx Refills mobile app. All other practices regarding PHI or other sensitive information by VIP and its covered entities are the purview of the Business Associates Agreement between VIP and its covered entities, and the Notices of Privacy Practices of each covered entity. For more information on how your pharmacy can use and disclose your PHI, please ask your pharmacy for a copy of their Notice of Privacy Practices.
What Our App Records
The VIP Rx Refills mobile app allows the user to save profile names and associated prescription numbers, as well as the preferred pharmacy of the user. This information is stored locally on the user’s mobile device, and is deleted when the app is uninstalled by the user. Any PHI free data files that are transmitted to a covered entity via the VIP Rx Refills mobile app are used one time for the purpose of refilling the requested prescriptions, and then are deleted. Data from these files is not stored longer than is necessary to complete a prescription refill, and this data is not aggregated, re-packaged, or sold to third parties. We do not collect your IP address, geo-location, use habits, device data, or any other user related data, whether it is considered PHI or merely sensitive personal information.
What We Are Transmitting
The VIP Rx Refills mobile app only transmits the following to your pharmacy (covered entity): the ID of your pharmacy, the prescription numbers you wish to refill, and your preferred method for receiving those prescriptions. This app does not transmit any PHI to the covered entities. Your prescription numbers are de-identified from any profile name or personal information stored on your mobile device, within the VIP Rx Refills mobile app or stored in the mobile device as a whole, in order to best protect your privacy. This information is only sent to the pharmacy (covered entity) that you designated in the app settings as your preferred pharmacy.
Uses Of Our App’s Data
Data entered into and transmitted by this app will be used for the expressed and sole purpose of communicating a request for a refill of the prescription number(s) entered by the patient. This refill request information will only be disclosed outside of the pharmacy to communicate with other professionals involved in your healthcare or payment for your healthcare, as required by local, state, or federal law for the purposes of law enforcement, judicial or administrative proceedings, or to advert a threat to the safety of you or another person.
Security and Risk
This app and data files generated by it are transmitted and received using industry standards for handling sensitive information. However, because no transmission over the internet is made without risk, we have minimized the vulnerability of the users by only transmitting non-PHI data. Regardless, we recommend that you transmit potentially sensitive information, of any nature and for any app or website, only over secure WiFi or cellular data connections.
Notification of a Breach. You have a right to be notified following a breach of any unsecured PHI that is tied to you, and we will notify you via your pharmacy in accordance with applicable law. Because this mobile app does not record or transmit PHI, the events in which a notification is triggered are extremely limited.
For More Information or to Report a Problem If you have questions or would like additional information about VIP’s privacy practices, you may contact our Privacy Officer at VIP Computer Systems, Inc., 138 N. Churton Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278 or by email at support@vip-pharmacy.com. For more information about your pharmacy’s Privacy Practices, please contact them directly. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with VIP’s Privacy Officer.
Effective Date This Notice is effective as of August 24, 2018
PHI is information that may identify you (patient, user) and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition, the provision of health care products and services to you or payment for such services. Because the VIP Rx Refill mobile app does not transmit or store names, addresses, telephone numbers, drug names, or other information that could be used to specifically identify you as a patient of the receiving pharmacy and details of your care thereat, transmissions from the mobile app do not qualify as PHI.
VIP is required to follow the terms of this Notice or any change to it that is in effect. We reserve the right to change our practices and this Notice and to make the new Notice effective for all current or future PHI or sensitive information we maintain. If we do so, the updated Notice will be posted on our website. Upon request, we will provide any revised Notice to you.
What This Notice of Privacy Practices Covers
This Notice of Privacy Practices covers only the use of the VIP Rx Refills mobile app. All other practices regarding PHI or other sensitive information by VIP and its covered entities are the purview of the Business Associates Agreement between VIP and its covered entities, and the Notices of Privacy Practices of each covered entity. For more information on how your pharmacy can use and disclose your PHI, please ask your pharmacy for a copy of their Notice of Privacy Practices.
What Our App Records
The VIP Rx Refills mobile app allows the user to save profile names and associated prescription numbers, as well as the preferred pharmacy of the user. This information is stored locally on the user’s mobile device, and is deleted when the app is uninstalled by the user. Any PHI free data files that are transmitted to a covered entity via the VIP Rx Refills mobile app are used one time for the purpose of refilling the requested prescriptions, and then are deleted. Data from these files is not stored longer than is necessary to complete a prescription refill, and this data is not aggregated, re-packaged, or sold to third parties. We do not collect your IP address, geo-location, use habits, device data, or any other user related data, whether it is considered PHI or merely sensitive personal information.
What We Are Transmitting
The VIP Rx Refills mobile app only transmits the following to your pharmacy (covered entity): the ID of your pharmacy, the prescription numbers you wish to refill, and your preferred method for receiving those prescriptions. This app does not transmit any PHI to the covered entities. Your prescription numbers are de-identified from any profile name or personal information stored on your mobile device, within the VIP Rx Refills mobile app or stored in the mobile device as a whole, in order to best protect your privacy. This information is only sent to the pharmacy (covered entity) that you designated in the app settings as your preferred pharmacy.
Uses Of Our App’s Data
Data entered into and transmitted by this app will be used for the expressed and sole purpose of communicating a request for a refill of the prescription number(s) entered by the patient. This refill request information will only be disclosed outside of the pharmacy to communicate with other professionals involved in your healthcare or payment for your healthcare, as required by local, state, or federal law for the purposes of law enforcement, judicial or administrative proceedings, or to advert a threat to the safety of you or another person.
Security and Risk
This app and data files generated by it are transmitted and received using industry standards for handling sensitive information. However, because no transmission over the internet is made without risk, we have minimized the vulnerability of the users by only transmitting non-PHI data. Regardless, we recommend that you transmit potentially sensitive information, of any nature and for any app or website, only over secure WiFi or cellular data connections.
Notification of a Breach. You have a right to be notified following a breach of any unsecured PHI that is tied to you, and we will notify you via your pharmacy in accordance with applicable law. Because this mobile app does not record or transmit PHI, the events in which a notification is triggered are extremely limited.
For More Information or to Report a Problem If you have questions or would like additional information about VIP’s privacy practices, you may contact our Privacy Officer at VIP Computer Systems, Inc., 138 N. Churton Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278 or by email at support@vip-pharmacy.com. For more information about your pharmacy’s Privacy Practices, please contact them directly. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with VIP’s Privacy Officer.
Effective Date This Notice is effective as of August 24, 2018
