Notice of Privacy Practices

Last Updated 8/24/2023

This notice describes how your protected health information may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully. 

Spectrum Generations, and its associated lines of business, to include but not limited to, Bridges Home Services, Maine Pine Catering, and Healthy Living for Me, is required by law to provide you with this Notice so that you will understand how we may use or share your information from your Designated Record Set. The Designated Record Set includes financial and health information referred to in this Notice as “Protected Health Information” (“PHI”) or simply “health information.” We are required to adhere to the terms outlined in this Notice. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact Spectrum Generations Privacy Official.

Understanding your health record and information 

Each time you receive services from Spectrum Generations, a record of your engagement is made that may contain health and financial information. Typically, this record contains information about your condition, the service we provided, and payment information (if any). We may use and/or disclose this information to:

  • plan your care and services.
  • communicate with other health professionals involved in your care.
  • document the care or services you receive.
  • educate health professionals.
  • provide information for medical research.
  • provide information to public health officials.
  • evaluate and improve the care we provide.
  • obtain payment for the care we provide.

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:

  • ensure it is accurate.
  • better understand who may access your health and service utilization information.
  • make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.

How we may use and disclose protected health information about you

The following categories describe the ways that we use and disclose health information. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall into one of the categories.

  • For Service or Treatment. We may use or disclose health information about you to provide you with further community-based or potentially medical treatment. We may disclose your health information to doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, or other Spectrum Generations personnel involved in taking care of you at Spectrum Generations.  For example, a direct support professional caring for you at one of adult-day service centers may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may impact what foods you may have while at our facility so that we can plan your meals. Different departments of Spectrum Generations may share health information about you to coordinate your care and provide you with the best service possible. We may also disclose health information about you to people outside Spectrum Generations who may be involved in your community-based or medical care after you leave Spectrum Generations.  This may include family members, your physician(s), or visiting nurses to provide care in your home.
  • For Payment. We may use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at Spectrum Generations may be billed to you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, to be paid, we may need to share information with your health plan about services provided to you. We may also tell your health plan about a service you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the service.
  • For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose health information about you for our day-to-day care operations. This is necessary to ensure that all consumers receive quality care. For example, we may use health information for quality assessment and improvement activities and for developing and evaluating clinical protocols. We may also combine health information about many residents to help determine what additional services should offer, what services should be discontinued, and whether certain new treatments are effective. Health information about you may be used by our corporate office for business development and planning, cost management analyses, insurance claims management, risk management activities, and in developing and testing information systems and programs. We may also use and disclose information for professional review, referrals for other programs which you may qualify, and for supervision of our programs. Other aspects of health care operations that may require use and disclosure of your health information include accreditation, certification, licensing and credentialing activities, review, and auditing, including compliance reviews, medical reviews, legal services, and compliance programs. Your health information may be used and disclosed for the business management and general activities of Spectrum Generations including resolution of internal grievances, customer service and due diligence in connection with a sale or transfer of Spectrum Generations. In limited circumstances, we may disclose your health information to another entity subject to HIPAA for its own health care operations. We may remove information that identifies you so that the health information may be used to study health care and health care delivery without learning the identities of our consumers. We may disclose your age, birth date and general information about you in the Spectrum Generations newsletter, on activities calendars, and to entities in the community that wish to acknowledge your birthday or commemorate your achievements on special occasions. If you are receiving ongoing services, we may post your photograph and general information about your progress.

Other allowable uses of your health information

  • Business Associates. There are some services provided by Spectrum Generations through contracts with business associates. Examples include medical directors, outside attorneys or a shredding service we use to dispose of your health record. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information so that they can perform the job we have asked them to do and bill you or your third-party payer for services rendered. To protect your health information, however, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.
  • Covered Entities. Spectrum Generations may perform services on behalf of another covered entity as a Service Provider. When contracted to do so, we will protect any PHI collected during the scope of work in accordance with our contract with that covered entity. In some instances, Spectrum Generations may be required to process PHI only as authorized and as necessary to perform the services described in the agreement. The Provider Agreement may alter the way Spectrum Generations typically handles data privacy and security including but not limited to the storage, maintenance, notifications, and transmission of PHI however, to the extent possible, Spectrum Generations will ensure that the covered entity has similar protections in place for your PHI and are compliant with laws and regulations.
  • Providers. Many services provided to you, as part of your care at Spectrum Generations, are offered through State or federally funded contracts. As such, we may disclose health information to those providers to coordinate care. These may include Elder Independence of Maine, the Veterans Administration, or the Department of Health and Human Services. We may need to communicate with your doctor or therapists to coordinate care.
  • Service Referrals or Alternatives. We may use and disclose health information to tell you about service options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
  • Health-Related Benefits and Services and Reminders. We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or services alternative information or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
  • Fundraising Activities. We may use your health information to contact you to raise money as part of a fundraising effort. We may disclose health information to a foundation related to Spectrum Generations so that the foundation may contact you in raising money for Spectrum Generations. We will only release contact information, such as your name, address and phone number and the dates you received services at Spectrum Generations.
  • Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. Unless you object, we may disclose health information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care. In addition, we may disclose health information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your condition, status, and location.
  • As Required by Law. We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
  • To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use and disclose health information about you to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. We would do this only to help prevent the threat.
  • Military and Veterans. If you are a member of the armed forces, we may disclose health information about you as required by military authorities. We may also disclose health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.
  • Research. Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose health information about you for research purposes. For example, a research project may involve comparing the health and recovery of all residents who received one medication to those who received another, for the same condition. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of health information, trying to balance the research needs with residents' need for privacy of their health information. Before we use or disclose health information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process. We may, however, disclose health information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project so long as the health information they review does not leave Spectrum Generations.
  • Workers' Compensation. We may disclose health information about you for workers' compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
  • Reporting Federal and state laws may require or permit Spectrum Generations to disclose certain health information related to the following:
    • Public Health Risks. We may disclose health information about you for public health purposes, including:
    • Prevention or control of disease, injury, or disability.
    • Reporting births and deaths.
    • Reporting child or elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
    • Reporting reactions to medications or problems with products.
    • Notifying people of recalls of products.
    • Notifying a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease.
    • Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities may include audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
    • Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
    • Reporting Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation, or Domestic Violence: Notifying the appropriate government agency if we believe a consumer has been the victim of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or domestic violence or poses a substantial health & safety risk to themselves.
  • Law Enforcement. We may disclose health information when requested by a law enforcement official:
    • In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process.
    • To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person.
    • About you, the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain your agreement.
    • About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct.
    • About suspected or substantiated criminal conduct at Spectrum Generations.
    • In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime.
  • Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. We may disclose medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also disclose medical information to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.
  • National Security and Intelligence Activities. We may disclose health information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.
  • Correctional Institution: Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution; we may disclose to the institution or its agent's health information necessary for your health care needs.

Other uses of health information

Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this Notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission. If you provide us with permission to use or disclose health information about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose health information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization.  You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.

Your rights regarding health information about you

Although your health record is the property of Spectrum Generations, the information belongs to you. You have the following rights regarding your health information:

  • Right to Inspect and Copy. With some exceptions, you have the right to review and copy your health information.

You must submit your request in writing to: Privacy Official, One Weston Court, Suite 109, Augusta, ME 04330. 

We may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.

  • Right to Amend. If you feel that health information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have this right for as long as the information is kept by or for Spectrum Generations. 

You must submit your request in writing to: Privacy Official, One Weston Court, Suite 109, Augusta, ME 04330. 

In addition, you must provide a reason for your request.

We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:

  • Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment;
  • Is not part of the health information kept by or for Spectrum Generations; or
  • It is accurate and complete.
  • Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures". This is a list of certain disclosures we made of your health information, other than those made for purposes such as service delivery, treatment, payment, or community-based or health care operations.

You must submit your request in writing to: Privacy Official, One Weston Court, Suite 109, Augusta, ME 04330. 

Your request must state a period which may not be longer than six years from the date the request is submitted and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper or electronically). The first list you request within a twelve-month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred.

  • Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you. For example, you may request that we limit the health information we disclose to someone involved in your care or the payment for it. You could ask that we not use or disclose information about a surgery you had to a family member or friend.

We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you with emergency treatment.

You must submit your request in writing to: Privacy Official, One Weston Court, Suite 109, Augusta, ME 04330. 

In your request, you must tell us (1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure, or both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example, disclosures to your spouse.

  • Right to Request Alternate Communications. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a confidential manner or at a specific location. For example, you may ask that we only contact you via mail to a post office box.

You must submit your request in writing to: Privacy Official, One Weston Court, Suite 109, Augusta, ME 04330. 

We will not ask you the reason for your request. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. We will accommodate all reasonable requests.

  • Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically. You may ask us to give you a copy of this Notice at any time.
  • You may obtain a copy of this Notice at our website, www.spectrumgenerations.org.

To obtain a paper copy of this Notice, contact: Privacy Official, 207-622-9212 or 1-800-639-1553

Changes to this notice

We reserve the right to change this Notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed Notice effective for health information we already have about you and any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current Notice at each Spectrum Generations location and on the website.  The Notice will specify the effective date on the first page, in the top right-hand corner. In addition, if material changes are made to this Notice, the Notice will contain an effective date for the revisions and copies can be obtained by contacting the Spectrum Generations’ Privacy Official.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Spectrum Generations Privacy Official or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Spectrum Generations, contact: Privacy Official, One Weston Court, Suite 109, Augusta, ME 04330. 

All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

 


Website Use Policy

Last revised 6/4/2018, BSSN revision 12/1/2018

Healthy Living for Maine (“HL4ME” or “We” or “Us”) connects individuals to programs that provide education, appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility and endurance, and self-care strategies to help people experience improved wellness and quality of life. The programs are developed and verified by researchers to prevent falls, prevent and manage diabetes, and promote management of health conditions such as chronic pain, COPD, high blood pressure, and arthritis.This Website Use Policy (“Policy”) applies to the use and collection of information through this website and any other website owned by us that posts a link to this Policy. This Policy is not a HIPAA Privacy Notice and does not govern the handling of your personal health information. BY ACCESSING AND USING THE PROGRAMS, YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS POLICY. HL4ME HAS THE RIGHT TO REVISE THIS POLICY AT ANY TIME. WE MAY NOT NOTIFY USERS INDIVIDUALLY IF WE CHANGE THIS POLICY. ANY CHANGES WILL BE EFFECTIVE WHEN POSTED. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK THIS POLICY FREQUENTLY FOR CHANGES. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF THIS WEBSITE INDICATES YOUR CONSENT TO ANY CHANGES.

Information We Collect

This website may collect personal and non-personal information about you, when you sign up for a program through the website. When you register for programs, you may be asked to provide your email address, name and other information that may identify you. This information is considered Personal Information. For purposes of this Policy, personal information includes all information or data that is specific to you and may be used to determine your identity, such as contact information (names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses) and any survey or healthcare related responses you provide related to the programs.

Except as specifically stated below, we will not provide your Personal Information to any third parties without your express consent. We may also collect non-personal information regarding your use of the website with operational tools such as cookies, web log files, and user IP addresses ("Usage Information"). We may use Usage Information and other system information to process automatic crash reporting which collects reports of crashes and other technical issues. A crash reporting service automatically collects certain information that does not personally identify you. The information used for crash reporting includes, but is not limited to, device state information, unique device identifiers, device hardware and OS information, and information relating to how the programs are functioning. We may also use the Usage Information to analyze and evaluate the features and functionality of the programs.

Use and Disclosure of the Information

Your Personal Information may be used and accessed by us as follows:

  • We will use the Personal Information to inform you about programs and to help you register for programs.
  • Your Personal Information will be available to certain third party technology services providers as reasonably necessary to support our website. Third party technology services providers include software development, application and data hosting, wireless network services providers, and payment processing agents. We are responsible for assuring that these third parties comply with the terms of this Policy.
  • Your Personal Information may be disclosed to any referring health care provider or health plan or health insurance payor (“Related Source”).
  • Your Personal Information may be disclosed to a Related Source or other third party that conducts surveys regarding your use of the program, or sends you emails or newsletters. You can elect to opt-out of participating in surveys and receiving emails or newsletters by contacting the email address below, or by calling the number on the HL4ME website.
  • Your Personal Information will be available to network providers and their employees (including leaders and trainers), who will use your Personal Information in the course of providing you with services.

Except for our third party technology services providers or as noted for a Related Source, we do not voluntarily share personal information with a third party without your prior authorization, unless doing so is necessary (1) to enforce this Policy, (2) to comply with laws, regulations, or other legal processes; (3) to protect the rights, property or safety of us or others, (4) to comply with a valid order or process from a government regulator or law enforcement agency, (5) in emergency situations, (6) to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the programs, (7) to detect or prevent criminal activity or fraud, or (8) in the event that we or substantially all of our assets are acquired by one or more third parties as a result of an acquisition, merger, sale, reorganization, consolidation or liquidation, in which case your Personal Information may be one of the transferred assets.

Tracking Technologies

We track and collect Usage Information via "cookie" files and other software technologies. Cookies are small data files containing a string of characters that are sent to your computer when you visit a website. When you visit the website again, the cookie allows that site to recognize your browser. Cookies may store your user preferences and other information. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of the services may not function properly without cookies.

Data Security

Data security is implemented through physical, administrative, and technical safeguards we put in place and operational procedures we follow to protect Personal Information. We protect your transactions involving Personal Information over the Internet using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. We restrict access to your Personal Information in our database to our authorized employees, our agents, and certain authorized partners.

Children's Privacy

The Programs are not intended for use by children under the age of 18. We will not knowingly collect any Personal Information from users under the age of 18 online through our website or user accounts. If you think that we have collected personal information from a visitor under the age of 18, please contact us.

Links to Other Sites

Our website may provide links to other websites. When you link to another site, you are longer on our site and are subject to the terms of use and privacy policy of the new site. We accept no responsibility for the content or accessibility of the external websites or external documents linked to this website.

Limitation of Liability

We make no claims, promises, or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this website and expressly disclaim liability for any errors and omissions in the content of this website. No warranty of any kind, implied, express, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third-party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer viruses, is given with respect to the contents of this website or its hyperlinks to other sites or web sources. References or links in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name are for the information and convenience of the user, and do not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favor by HL4ME.

Intellectual Property Rights

The website and its entire contents, features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video and audio, and the design, selection and arrangement thereof), are owned by us, its licensors or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. Just by way of example, the HL4ME name and logo is a registered name and trademark of Spectrum. You may not use the name without the owner’s prior written permission. All other names and logos appearing on the web site are tradenames or trademarks of their respective owners.

This Policy permits you to use the website for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any of the material on our website, including that you may not:

  • Modify copies of any materials from this site.
  • Use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from the accompanying text.
  • Delete or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from this site.
  • Access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the website or any services or materials available through the website.

If you print, copy, modify, download or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the website in breach of this Policy, your right to use the website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title or interest in or to the website or any content on the website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by the HL4ME.

User Contributions

Any information or material you post or submit to the site, other than Personal Information or PHI, if any, (“User Contribution”) will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. By providing any User Contribution on the website, you grant us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors and assigns the right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute and otherwise disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose.

Prohibited Uses

In addition to the conditions of use and the restrictions set forth above, by agreeing to these Terms of Use, you acknowledge that you will only use the website for lawful purposes and in accordance with this Policy. For example, and without minimizing any of the prior terms, you agree that you shall not use the website:

  • In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the US or other countries).
  • To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material in a manner inconsistent with the terms of this Policy.
  • To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material, including any "junk mail", "chain letter" or "spam" or any other similar solicitation.
  • To engage in any other conduct that restricts, undermines or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the website, or which, as determined by us, may harm us or users of the website or expose them to liability.
  • To introduce any viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful.
  • To gain unauthorized access to any data on the website, or any server.
  • Attack the website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this Policy, or your privacy, please contact us at PrivacyOfficer@healthylivingforme.org or via the contact information provided on the HL4ME website.

Changes to Our Policy

We may modify, alter or update our Policy at any time, so we encourage you to review our Policy frequently. We will not provide individual notice to you of changes to our Policy, but when we make updates to our Policy, we will update the date of the revision.