Data privacy policy
Updated: March 2024
Introduction
This Privacy Policy ("Policy") applies to all service users of CoLab Healthcare Solutions, Inc. ("CoLab Healthcare Solutions," "CoLab," “our,” “us,” or “we”).
CoLab Healthcare Solutions respects the privacy of all service users of CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services and is committed to protecting privacy through our compliance with this Policy. We understand that Personal Information and Protected Health Information (both defined below) are private, and we are dedicated to maintaining the accessibility, confidentiality, and integrity of all such information.
Your Consent to This Privacy Policy
Please read this Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it before using the Services, or otherwise providing us with your information. If you do not agree with our Policy, your choice is not to use CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services. By using CoLab’s services and indicating your acceptance, you agree to our Policy. We may change this Policy from time to time, and while we will do our best to notify you of any changes, it is your responsibility to review this Policy periodically. Your continued use of CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services after we make changes is deemed to be an acceptance of those changes, so please check our Policy periodically for updates.
Our Healthcare Business Services
CoLab is on a mission to help healthcare providers and their patients, to improve patient care by providing our proprietary clinical documentation and other services. CoLab Healthcare Solutions collects Personal Information and Protected Health Information (both defined below) that is necessary to perform our Services. The company’s platform uses robotic process automation and natural language processing, including large language models, to generate accurate and timely clinical notes that are transferred into the EHR. When we provide these Services for our customers and their Authorized Users, we are subject to a federal medical privacy law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and we only work with vendors that are able to sign a BAA and ensure their systems are HIPAA compliant. Customers of our Services must agree to additional terms in order to use our Services in compliance with HIPAA, which apply to all personal & patient information we access as part of our Services. Our treatment of patient information is governed by HIPAA and our agreements with our customers, including our business associate agreement, as applicable. We do not have direct relationships with the patients of our customers.
Information We Collect About You and How We Collect It
We collect several types of information from and about users of CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services. This Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide, and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information. At all times, we will only use or disclose your Personal Information and Protected Health Information (both defined below) to the extent minimally necessary for the intended use or disclosure.
This Privacy Policy applies to information we collect:
On our website.
Via e-mail, text, video, and voice communications between you and us.
Via electronic communications between you and us and between you and our website.
Via offline activities and communications.
Between you and your healthcare provider.
Through any/all of CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services.
Personal Information
As used in this Policy, “Personal Information” means any information that may be used to identify an individual clinician, such as their first and last name, e-mail address, telephone number, or other personal information. When you use CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services, we may collect, use, or disclose your Personal Information but only to the extent minimally necessary and consistent with this policy. You acknowledge that we may collect this Personal Information from you directly or from your healthcare provider/clinician to enhance our ability to serve your needs and/or your use of CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services. It is entirely your choice whether or not to provide Personal Information to CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services. If you choose not to provide requested Personal Information, you may not be able to use certain features of CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services. By voluntarily providing us with Personal Data, whether through our website or in connection with the Services, you are consenting to our use of it in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Use of Personal Information
CoLab may use the information collected from you when you use our Site or Services for various purposes as permitted by applicable law. These include, without limitation:
To create and manage your account.
To provide the Services or information you request.
To follow up with you regarding your interest in and/or use of the Services.
To process orders or other transactions; billing and payments.
To keep you informed about the status of your Services.
To identify your preferences so CoLab can notify you of information, products, services, and promotions that might be of interest to you.
To provide support and assistance for the Services.
To improve customer service and the overall experience with CoLab.
Personalizing the Services and communications based on your preferences.
To generate and analyze statistics about the preferences of users of our Services.
To detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violations of our Terms of Use, or violations of the law.
To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal process.
To communicate with and advertise to users of the Services and others by email, postal mail, telephone, or other means.
Information We Share
If you provide Personal Data to us, we may share it with service providers who assist us in activities such as technology or communications management. These providers are not authorized to use or disclose the information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements. We will not share Personal Data about you with third parties for their marketing purposes. We might share Personal Data if we were to sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets, in which case we would make commercially reasonable efforts to contractually require the recipient to treat the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We might also disclose information about you (i) if required by law, subpoena, court order, or legal process, (ii) to law enforcement or other government authorities, or (iii) if we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent serious physical harm or in connection with an investigation of illegal or fraudulent activity. We may also disclose personal data to third parties that help us provide the Services or perform certain business functions on our behalf. We do not sell Personal Data for monetary or other valuable consideration.
International Data Transfers
Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to – and maintained on – computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction. Please do not provide us with any information that you do not wish to be transferred internationally.
Protecting Personal Information
We are committed to maintaining the security of Personal Data. We use appropriate administrative, technical, and physical security measures intended to protect against loss, misuse, improper access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction of Personal Data. If we share Personal Data with third parties to provide services to us, we will contractually require them to employ appropriate security measures to protect it.
Protected Health Information
As used in this Privacy Policy, “Protected Health Information” means Personal Information for your patients in conjunction with information related to physical or mental health, such as medical history, family history, medical diagnosis, health background, current health status, age, gender, sexual behavior and sexual orientation, demographic information (including race, ethnicity, marital status, etc.) and information related to the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions, over-the-counter and prescription medications, laboratory test results, and health insurance information. When you use CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services, we may collect, use, or disclose Protected Health Information but only to the extent minimally necessary and consistent with this policy. You acknowledge that we may collect this Protected Health Information from you directly or from your clinician. We may ask you and/or your clinician to provide Protected Health Information that will enable us to enhance our ability to serve your needs and/or your use of CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services. It is entirely your choice whether or not to provide Protected Health Information through CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services. If you choose not to provide requested Protected Health Information, you may not be able to use certain features of CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services.
How We May Use or Disclose Your Information
Except as described in this Policy or in our Terms of Service, Personal Information, Protected Health Information, Technical Information, Location-Based Information, and Behavior Tracking Information (collectively, “Information”) that you or your healthcare provider provide to us or that we collect from you or your healthcare provider will be kept confidential and used or disclosed only to the extent minimally necessary to support CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services. CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services exist to allow you and/or your clinician to measure treatment response, progress, and outcomes.
We may use or disclose your Information only to the extent minimally necessary:
To present and facilitate CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services to you and/or on your behalf.
To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
To provide you with notices and to facilitate communications deemed appropriate by us.
To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide the Information.
To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts we have entered into regarding you, including Business Associate Agreements, for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations.
To notify you about changes to CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Privacy Policy and/or CoLab Healthcare Solutions' Services.
To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including responding to any government or regulatory request.
To enforce or apply our Terms of Service.
If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, privacy, security, accessibility of Information, and/or property of CoLab Healthcare Solutions.
For research purposes according to the policies and procedures described in the Informed Consent.
In any other way we may describe when you provide the Information.
For any other purpose with your lawful consent.
We may also use your Information to contact you about our own products and services that may be of interest to you.
Data Security
We use technical, physical, and administrative safeguards that are designed to improve the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of your Personal Information and Protected Health Information. We incorporate secure storage and transmission technologies including strong encryption, firewalls, fine-grained access control, and secure audit.
Contact Us
CoLab welcomes your comments. If you have any questions or comments about our Privacy Policy or our information practices, please contact us at: info@colabhealthcare.net.