Privacy Policy
Our Privacy Policy attests to our commitment to privacy and demonstrates the ways we ensure that patient privacy is protected. Our Privacy Policy applies to the personal health information of all our patients that is in our possession and control.

What is Personal Health Information?
​Personal health information means identifying information about an individual relating to their physical or mental health (including medical history), the providing of health care to the individual, payments or eligibility for health care, organ and tissue donation and health number.

Why We Collect Information?

Accountability
We take our commitment to securing patient privacy very seriously. Each physician and employee associated with Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Centers is responsible for the personal information under his/her control. Our employees are informed about the importance of privacy and receive information periodically to update them about our Privacy Policy and related issues.

Identifying Purposes
We ask you for information to establish a relationship and serve your medical needs. We obtain most of our information about you directly from you, or from other health practitioners whom you have seen and authorized to disclose to us. You are entitled to know how we use your information and this is described in the Privacy Statement posted at Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Centers. We will limit the information we collect to what we need for those purposes, and we will use it only for those purposes. We will obtain your consent if we wish to use your information for any other purpose.

Consent
You have the right to determine how your personal health information is used and disclosed. For most health care purposes, your consent is implied as a result of your consent to treatment, however, in all circumstances express consent must be written. Patients who have withdrawn consent to disclose PHI must sign and date the Consent to Withdrawal Form. It is understood that the consent directive applies only to the PHI which the patient has already provided, and not to PHI which the patient might provide in the future: Your written Consent to Withdrawal Form will documented patient’s medical records and notify appropriate Health care providers and their supporting staff.

Limiting Collection
We collect information by fair and lawful means and collect only that information which may be necessary for purposes related to the provision of your medical care.

Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
The information we request from you is used for the purposes defined. We will seek your consent before using the information for purposes beyond the scope of the posted Privacy Statement. Under no circumstances do we sell patient lists or other personal information to third parties. There are some types of disclosure of your personal health information that may occur as part of this Facility fulfilling its routine obligations and/or practice management. This includes consultants and suppliers to Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Centers, on the understanding that they abide by our Privacy Policy, and only to the extent necessary to allow them to provide business services or support to this Facility. We will retain your information only for the time it is required by State and Federal Law. When your personal information is no longer required, it will be destroyed. However, due to potential claims, some information is kept for a longer period. Patients may be required to sign and date a Consent to Disclose Form and pay a fee based on current rates prior to release of information.

Accuracy
We ensure that all decisions involving your personal information are based upon accurate and timely information. While we will do our best to base our decisions on accurate information, we rely on you to disclose all material information and to inform us of any relevant changes.

Safeguards: Protecting Your Information
We protect your information with appropriate safeguards and security measures. Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Centers maintains personal information in a combination of paper and electronic files. Recent paper records concerning individuals’ personal information are stored in files kept onsite at our office. Older records may be stored securely offsite. Access to personal information will be authorized only for the physicians and employees associated with Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Centers, and other agents who require access in the performance of their duties, and to those otherwise authorized by law.

We provide information to health care providers acting on your behalf, on the understanding that they are also bound by law and ethics to safeguard your privacy. Other organizations and agents must agree to abide by our Privacy Policy and may be asked to sign contracts to that effect. We will give them only the information necessary to perform the services for which they are engaged, and will require that they not store, use or disclose the information for purposes other than to carry out those services.

Openness
Keeping You Informed Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Centers has prepared this plain-language Privacy Policy to keep you informed. You may view a copy by visiting our website at www.crchc.org. If you have any additional questions or concerns about privacy, we invite you to contact us by phone and we will address your concerns to the best of our ability.

Access and Correction
With limited exceptions, we will give you access to the information we retain about you in our Patient Portal, or upon written request. We may charge you a fee for this service and if so, we will give you notice in advance of processing your request. If you find errors of fact in your personal health information, please notify us as soon as possible or sign in to the Patient Portal and make the appropriate corrections. We are not required to correct information relating to clinical observations or opinions made in good faith. If we deny your request for access to your personal information, we will advise you in writing of the reason for the refusal and you may then challenge our decision.

Challenging Compliance
We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have about your privacy or our Privacy Policy. We will investigate and respond to your concerns about any aspect of our handling of your information.
In most cases, an issue is resolved simply by telling us about it and discussing it.