HIPAA, Privacy and Advertising Policies

HIPAA Compliance Statement

As required by the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), The Organization for Understanding Cluster Headaches ( O.U.C.H. ) does hereby assure our Members that it will appropriately safeguard all Protected Health Information (“PHI”) made available to, or obtained by, O.U.C.H in accordance with this Compliance Statement.   Accordingly, it is the policy of O.U.C.H to meet, or exceed the legal requirements relating to PHI under HIPAA and with respect to any activity O.U.C.H performs on behalf of affected Members. Specifically O.U.C.H shall:

(a) Not make known to any unauthorized party any PHI other than what may be required by law;
(b) Use appropriate precautions to prevent any unauthorized use or disclosure of PHI;
(c) Promptly report any use of PHI, of which O.U.C.H is aware, that may be required by law to the Member;
(d) Make accounting of disclosure information available that may be required by law;
(e) Make O.U.C.H internal PHI procedures and records received from Members available to the appropriate governing authority for purposes of determining compliance with the law, and;
(f) at the request of the Member, return or destroy all Member provided PHI that O.U.C.H maintains in its possession. 

 

PRIVACY NOTICE

O.U.C.H. provides this notice to let you know about the current privacy practices of O.U.C.H. and its volunteers. You do not need to do anything in response to this notice. This notice is merely to inform you about how we safeguard your information.

Neither O.U.C.H. nor our volunteer staff will use or share with other parties any nonpublic personal financial information or nonpublic personal health information about O.U.C.H‘s members without member consent. Neither O.U.C.H. nor our volunteer staff will further disclose any nonpublic personal information about a former member of O.U.C.H. other than as may be required or permitted by law.

PRIVACY PRACTICES

Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of information about our members is very important to The Organization for Understanding Cluster Headaches ( O.U.C.H ). Accordingly, we strive to comply with each of the following practices in everything we do:
• We do not sell, rent, lease or otherwise disclose personal information of our members. The personal information of our members is of paramount importance to us. 
• We work to ensure information integrity and security. We use technology tools and design our business practices to help ensure that the personal information of our members is properly gathered, stored and protected. 
•We also work to maintain the security of, and internal and external access to, the personal information of our members through the use of technology and business practices.
• We expect our Officers, Board Members, and volunteer staff to respect the personal information of our clients.  O.U.C.H has policies and practices in place to help ensure that our Officers, Board Members, and volunteer staff carry out these practices and otherwise protect personal information about our members.  Employees, Officers, Board Members and volunteer staff are subject to censure, dismissal, or termination for violation of these policies.

• The OUCH websites does not utilize "Cookies" to gather info on, analyze or track any visitors' internet usage habits.  The OUCH Business Board forum uses cookies to allow members to log in without having to enter username/password each time. Forum users can change how long these cookies last at each login.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

O.U.C.H and our volunteer staff will safeguard, according to strict standards of security and confidentiality, any information we collect, receive or maintain about O.U.C.H. members.  O.U.C.H. maintains administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure the security and confidentiality of our member information and records, to protect against anticipated threats or hazards to such records, and to protect against unauthorized access to or use of such information or records.

Internally, O.U.C.H. limits access to our members’ information to only those employees who need access to the information to perform their job duties. Staff who misuse information are subject to disciplinary actions. Externally, we do not disclose client information to any third parties unless we have previously informed the client of the disclosure, have been authorized to do so by the customer, or are required or permitted to make the disclosure by law.

ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL SPONSORSHIP POLICY

While O.U.C.H does actively seek sponsorship from private and commercial organizations, at no time will any donor, grantor, or commercial sponsor have input into the content of either the website or the newsletter.  

Under no circumstance will O.U.C.H endorse a commercial product or service by brand name in exclusion to all others, nor should endorsement be implied by any partnership, collaboration, or association.

In considering sponsorships, O.U.C.H will be mindful of protecting its good name.  O.U.C.H reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any association or sponsorship at any time without explanation. 

The use of brand names for medications, treatments, services, etc., within this site are provided for informational and/or educational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation.

This website does not accept advertisement.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided on this web site is for educational and informational purposes only.  It should not be used as a substitute for seeking professional care or for the diagnosis and treatment of any medical disorder.  O.U.C.H. makes no claims as to the scientific/clinical validity of the information on this site OR to that of the information linked to from this site.  All information taken from the internet should be discussed with a medical professional!