Privacy Policy

PGH Privacy Policy

Welcome to the PGH Data Privacy Policy.

We take your privacy seriously. Here you will find out why we need certain information from you, what we do with it, how we keep it secure, and what your rights are and our obligations to you.

If you have a disability or require assistance in understanding this notice or wish to receive in a different form let us know.

About this Policy
What data we hold from you and how we get it
Your rights
Your choices
Our uses and disclosures
Data retention and deletion
Transfer to other countries
Keeping your data safe
Our responsibilities
Changes to this Data Privacy Policy

About this Policy

This Policy sets out the essential details relating to your personal data relationship with Preferred Global Health Inc, of 101 Federal Street, Suite 1900, Boston, MA 02110, USA. It is designed to help you understand what kind of information this provider of your services and its affiliated companies (“PGH”), collects in connection with our products and services.

The aim of this Policy is to:

Ensure that you understand what personal data we collect about you, the reasons why we collect it and use it, and who we share it with and why;
Explain your rights and choices in relation the personal data we collect and process about you;
Explain how we protect your privacy and safeguard your data.

The Policy applies to all PGH services and associated products.

In the course of providing you with services we will collect and process information that is commonly known as personal data. Under applicable European data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and all other supplemental and other laws governing data security and data protection in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK (the “European Data Privacy Laws”), PGH is a data controller.

PGH’s patient services is in Massachusetts, United States of America (US) because remote medical opinion services or treatment are carried out by hospitals and doctors in the US. PGH adheres to The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, (“HIPAA”). In Summary, the HIPAA Privacy Rule was issued to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive Personal Health Information, (“PHI”). It seeks to protect the privacy of patients by requiring hospitals, doctors, and other health care service providers (“providers”) to provide patients with an account of each entity to which the provider of services discloses PHI for billing and administrative purposes, while still allowing relevant health information to flow through the proper channels. Furthermore, it provides federal standards to safeguard the privacy of PHI and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records and to request corrections. The US Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) oversees compliance with HIPAA privacy requirements.

What data we hold from you and how we get it

Personal data is any information we have that can identify you, such as your name or medical history.

When you use our services, we collect the following information about you:

Personal Data: your name, date of birth, gender, email, telephone, address.
Health and Medical Information: general health, diagnoses, symptoms, treatments, and medications, consultations such as notes, procedures, such as surgery, test results like scans and imaging.
Your insurance policy and claims records.

In some cases where you register with us directly, we also collect your payment information. We do not store any payment information (PayPal or credit or debit card details) and only keep details of transactions.

The sources of this information are:

You.
Our partners

The information you give us must be accurate. If you give us information about yourself or another person, you are confirming that you are authorized to do so.

All the personal information we collect from you or generated by you is used to provide the services you have requested or for communications to which you have subscribed. We will safeguard the privacy and security of your personal data, including your medical and health data, as required under applicable laws including HIPAA and the European Data Privacy Laws.

You may also consent to us using your personal information for additional purposes not described in this Notice. We will not use your personal information for these additional purposes without your consent. You have the right to tell us that you do not want to be contacted by us for these additional purposes any time after you initially provide your consent.

We are also permitted to process your personal information to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and/or our contractual obligations to you to provide the services to you and to manage any technical issues or support requests that may arise.

We do not allow any third parties to have access to your personal information, except as required or permitted by applicable laws or in accordance with the Notice. We may disclose your personal information to our subcontractors, agents, or providers that we contract with to assist us in providing the services, provided that any such subcontractors or agents adhere to HIPAA or shall agree in writing to comply with the privacy and security standards described in this Notice.

There may be instances when we disclose your personal information to other parties:

To comply with the law or respond to compulsory legal process (such as a search warrant or court order) or request for information from a regulator or otherwise for legal purposes.
To verify or enforce compliance with the policies governing the services.
To protect the rights, property, or safety of PGH, or any of our respective affiliates, business partners, or members or otherwise in the legitimate business interests of PGH and/or our affiliates and in accordance with European Data Privacy Laws.

We may share your personal information with other entities in connection with the sale, assignment, merger or other transfer of all or a portion of PGH’s business to that other entity.

Your rights

You are in control of your personal information. You have the right to:

Receive a copy of your health and claims records and your other information.
Correct your health and claims records or other information about you.
Request confidential communication.
Ask us to limit the information we share.
Ask us to delete your information.
Receive a list of those with whom we’ve shared your information.
Select a third party to act for you.
Ask for a copy of your information to be provided to a third-party.
File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated including, under applicable European Data Privacy Laws, with a supervisory authority in your country of residence.

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you. These rights are, where applicable, subject to laws including HIPAA and the European Data Privacy Laws.

Receive a copy of health and claims records

You can request to see or receive a copy of your health and claims records and other health or personal information that we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
We will provide a copy or a summary of your health and claims records, usually within 30 days of your request.
You can ask us to provide a copy of your records to a third-party where permitted under applicable European Data Privacy Laws.

Ask us to correct health and claims records

You can ask us to correct your health and claims records or other personal information if you think they are incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
We may say “no” to your request, where permitted under applicable laws including the European Data Privacy Laws, but we’ll inform you of the reasoning in writing within 60 days (or sooner if required under the European Data Privacy Laws).

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 consider all reasonable requests and must say “yes” if you specify that you would otherwise be in danger if we do not comply.

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 or to object to the processing of your personal information or ask that it is restricted.
We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.

Ask for your personal information to be deleted

You can, where permitted and to the extent required under applicable European Data Privacy Laws, ask for your personal information to be deleted.
We may need to retain some of your personal information for our legal or contractual requirements and to the extent permitted under European Data Privacy Laws.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

You can request a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make) unless required under applicable European Data Privacy Laws.

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.

Select a third party 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 have been violated

You can file a complaint if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us by email or phone. Any concerns or complaints should be emailed to Privacy@pghworld.com.
Under applicable European Data Privacy Laws, you also have the right to make a complaint to the supervisory authority in your country of residence.
You can file a complaint with the US 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 hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

To do any of these things, please contact us at:

Data Protection Officer
PGH
101 Federal Street, Suite 1900
Boston, MA 02110, USA
Or by email at: Privacy@pghworld.com

We will ask you to confirm your identify through proof of identity. Data protection laws allow us one (1) month to get back to you.

Your choices

You have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we:

Answer coverage questions from your family and friends.
Market our services.

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

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

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

Marketing purposes

Our uses and disclosures

We use your personal information and health and medical information to provide you with and deliver healthcare service. We use and share your information with third-parties as we:

Help manage the health care treatment you receive.
Run our organization.
Pay for your health services.
Administer your health services or plan.
Help with public health and safety issues.
Conduct research.
Comply with the law.
Respond to organ and tissue donation requests and work with a medical examiner or funeral director.
Address law enforcement and other government requests.
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions.

How do we typically use or share your health information?

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways:

Help manage the health care treatment you receive

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

Example: A doctor sends us information about your diagnosis and treatment plan so we can arrange additional services.

Run our organization

We can use and disclose your information to run our organization and contact you when necessary.
We are not allowed to use genetic information to determine whether you will receive coverage and the price of that coverage. This does not apply to long term care plans.

Example: We use health information about you to develop better services for you.

Pay for your health services

We can use and disclose your health information to partners who may be insurers and reinsurers if you are a customer of these products to pay for your health services.

Example: We share information about you with your insurer to coordinate payment for your medical expenses.

Protecting your data

We will take all appropriate technical and organisational steps to protect the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and authenticity of your data, including when sharing your data within our company and authorised third parties.

How else can we use or share your health information?

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 must meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

Preventing disease.
Helping with product recalls.
Reporting adverse reactions to medications.
Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.

Conduct research

We can use or share your information for health research.

Comply with the law

We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it. This includes the Department of Health and Human Services, if they want to confirm that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

Respond to organ and tissue donation requests and work with a medical examiner or funeral director

We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director.

Address law enforcement and other government requests

We can use or share health information about you:

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.

Uses or disclosures (sharing) of information that require your written permission (authorization)

Using and/or disclosing health information for other purposes not described in this Policy requires your specific authorization. For example, unless you give your authorization, PGH may not sell your health information or disclose such information in exchange for payment to a third party for purposes of marketing their products or services to you.

Furthermore, certain information that may be contained in your medical record is considered by state and/or federal law to be highly confidential, including, for example, HIV testing or test results, certain clinical psychotherapy documentation, and certain genetic information; therefore, this type of information gets additional protection from disclosure, and, at times requires your written authorization even before disclosure for treatment, payment, or health care operations. If you are asked to and give written authorization for the use and/or disclosure of your health information, you may withdraw such authorization at any time in writing or, in certain limited cases, orally, except to the extent that the providers have already acted upon your previously provided authorization.

Data retention and deletion

We keep your personal data (“retention”) only as long as necessary to provide you with services for legitimate and essential business purposes, such as the provision and delivery of care and patient services.

Personal data is retained for the duration of our business relationship and, in case of policy administration like Preferred Care for seven (7) years after the policy has expired for legal, regulatory, audit and tax requirements. After this period has expired, the personal information relating to your policy is deleted or de-identified.

We might also keep some information that does not identify you to help improve our business and services.

Any personal information which you have provided to us for marketing purposes such as newsletters will be kept until you notify us that you no longer wish to receive this information.

If you request, as stated in your data rights, we will delete or anonymize your personal data so that it no longer identifies you, unless we are legally allowed or required to maintain certain personal data.

Right to Erasure

You have the right to request from PGH the erasure of personal data concerning yourself without undue delay.

As stated in the section Your Rights we shall have the obligation to erase personal data without undue delay where one of the following grounds applies:

The personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed;
You withdraw consent and where there is no other legal ground for processing;
You object to the processing pursuant to Article 21(1) and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, or you object to the processing pursuant to Article 21(2);
The personal data have been unlawfully processed;
The personal data must be erased for compliance with a legal obligation in Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject;
The personal data have been collected in relation to the offer of information society services referred to in Article 8(1).

We will ask you to confirm your identify via proof of identity and have one (1) month to get back to you as provided by Data protection laws.

For questions or to request, please contact us at:

Email at: Privacy@pghworld.com

Data Protection Officer
PGH
101 Federal Street, Suite 1900
Boston, MA 02110, USA

For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html

http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-5419-2016-INIT/en/pdf

Transfer to other countries

Your data may be processed or stored outside of your country of residence and outside of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or UK (“EEA”). This is because patient services at PGH are provided from the US and we work with providers in the US or other countries and in some cases with underwriters, insurers, or reinsurers, if applicable to your plan, that help us deliver PGH services to you. This is necessary for the purposes of administering our business and underwriting and claims processing purposes. These providers and companies may have servers outside of the EEA or your country of residence. Such parties are not permitted to use your personal data for any other purpose than for what has been agreed with us. These parties are also required to safeguard your personal data by appropriate technical and organizational data security measures and are prohibited from disclosing or sharing your data with other third parties without our prior authorization, or unless as required by law.

PGH may also share your personal data with other companies in the PGH Group to carry out the activities specified in this Policy. This will always be in line with applicable data protection lawful mechanisms, with appropriate contractual, technical, and organizational measures in place, and subject to strict safeguards.

For further information on how we protect and transfer your data, contact us by email at: Privacy@pghworld.com

Keeping your data safe

PGH understands that storing data in a secure manner is essential. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures and safeguards to help protect the security of your personal data against foreseeable risks such as unauthorized use, access, disclosure, destruction, or modification. Although we make best practice and good faith efforts to store and protect the information we collect in a secure operating environment, please note that no system is ever completely secure. We work to ensure the integrity and security of our network and systems, but we cannot guarantee complete security. We have implemented various policies including encryption of data at rest and in transmission, access, pseudonymisation, and retention policies to guard against unauthorised access and unnecessary retention of personal data in our systems.

Our responsibilities

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
We will let you know within 72 hours if a breach occurs that is likely to create a high risk for your privacy or security.
We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy.
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.

Changes to this Data Privacy Policy

We might update this policy from time to time. The changes will apply to all information we have about you. If we make any important changes, we will let you know and give you a chance to review them.

If you agree to the changes, you don’t need to do anything. Just keep using our services with the updated policy and we will assume you are happy with the way we use your data. If you do not agree to the changes, then you can stop using our services at any time.