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FAQ
HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). The Privacy Rule, a Federal law, gives you rights over your health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information. The Privacy Rule applies to all forms of individuals' protected health information, whether electronic, written, or oral. The Security Rule, a Federal law that protects health information in electronic form, requires entities covered by HIPAA to ensure that electronic protected health information is secure. Your health information cannot be used or shared without your written permission unless this law allows it. For example, without your authorization, your provider generally cannot:
Membership with CareXO.com is voluntary. From your authorization and only from your authorization are we allowed to receive your HIV/STD test results and only for the purposes of data entry. Limited information about you is retained for legal purposes and is never, sold or exposed to a third party except for those instances explicitly expressed in the Legal Agreement during sign up. More information about your rights under HIPAA can be found at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website: http:/www.hhs.gov/ Can I donate to The CareXO Foundation? Yes! We are always seeking donations to keep our service free and to provide community programs in at risk communities such as; helping feed/clothe homeless LGBT Youth, HIV/STD education events within the community and further development of The CareXO Foundations projects and services. My provider says they cannot share/fax my results because of HIPAA. Is that true? No. The truth is most people have not read the HIPAA Act of 1996 guidelines completely and only know the parts which apply to running their office without suffering any legal penalties, but very often overlook the actual portions of the law which apply to you – their patient. Your medical records and information is yours to authorize and use as you see fit. Under the “Authorizations and Disclosures” section of HIPAA: "Authorization. A covered entity must obtain the individual’s written authorization for any use or disclosure of protected health information that is not for treatment, payment or health care operations or otherwise permitted or required by the Privacy Rule. A covered entity may not condition treatment, payment, enrollment, or benefits eligibility on an individual granting an authorization, except in limited circumstances."
“A covered entity” refers to your healthcare provider covered under the HIPAA regulation. This quote is located on Page 9 of the official summary from the HHS. A full summary of the HIPAA Regulations, Authorizations and general information can be found here: If they still refuse to send your results: First, call your health care provider and ask them to fax to your CareXO.com account a reason why they will not fulfill your request. Finally, consider filing a HIPAA complaint here I got tested, why can't I search for other members or edit my profile? As soon as we receive the fax from you or your test center, your results are verified and entered into the database. If your profile hasn’t been activated within 24 hours of your test, please contact your test provider to verify the fax was sent to us. Keep in mind for legal and security reasons, some aspects of your profile can not be edited. Why should I use CareXO.com? Anyone who wants to share their HIV and STD status openly. CareXO.com promotes conversation and HIV awareness by providing you with the peace of mind of knowing that you and your partner are healthy and safe. Know your status. Know theirs. Plus CareXO.com is portable and web accessible, available wherever you may go. Access your test results anywhere – anytime. Is my information safe? Yes. The CareXO.com employs proprietary encryption on our databases and secure logins. Soon we will have an ID Check system in place to definitively identify each user and track anyone who accesses your profile and our database. The only person who can share your HIV and STD status information, is you. Who has access to my medical information? Anyone you make your information available to via CareXO ID and only other members of CareXO.com whom have also been tested. Our search feature is only active to members after they have also taken a test. Your medical information is encrypted and safely stored on our servers within our database. Your healthcare professional has full access to your records and bears responsibility for its accuracy. We input the data we receive from your test provider. CareXO.com cannot add or remove medical records without a direct and written request from you and/or your healthcare professional. Can anyone see my profile? No. Your information is not available to the general public by default. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing cannot gain access to your profile, and therefore will not be visible via search. However, should you decide to share your test results with your spouse/partner a XO-ID# is provided that will give him or her access to a truncated profile with limited information about you and your status via our PlaySafe app. Each person is provided with a unique XO-ID# that can be used to retrieve his or her information, or to allow it to be accessed. You can also "link" people to your status (not your entire profile) with the link provided on your "My Tests" page. What if I test positive?
If you should test positive for any result, your test center will not fax your results to CareXO.com without your approval and your confidentiality is maintained notwithstanding your agreement to post your results on CareXO. You will be notified by your caregiver as to the next steps in your care. However if you still would like to obtain a CareXO.com account, there is an option for you to "self enroll" with CareXO.com. You will be allowed to create your own profile and test results however you do not have the option to enter a "negative" test result for any test posted and “Member Search” will be disabled for 48 hours. CareXO.com is a secure online database for your personal use and access. We receive your HIV/STD test results electronically into our database. Any and all original documents are encoded and stored. No unauthorized CareXO.com empoloyee has access to these files. We will never sell your information to a third party. No employee of CareXO.com will ever ask for your password, XO-ID# or any personal or medical information, nor make uninitiated contact to you or anyone directly. This is your profile. Your information. You share it with whom you decide. Can all my doctors use CareXO.com? Any physician can participate by working directly with CareXO.com and may contact our offices with any questions they may have but we cannot give out any medical information about you. Only you can provide them with your status results if you choose. You can take your smart phone with you to the appointment! What if my current doctor isn’t registered on CareXO.com? Neither your doctor, test facility or clinic needs to register with CareXO.com. They can participate by respecting your request to fax/email your HIV/STD test results to CareXO.com. The ultimate goal is to educate, promote awareness and sexual health. We are sure your health care provider supports this goal and will be happy to assist you in any way. Have an open and honest talk with them about your health and your involvement with CareXO.com. |
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