Privacy Practices

YOUR INFORMATION. YOUR RIGHTS. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES.

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This notice explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

 

HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

 

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

This Notice of Privacy Practices applies to Total Lab Solutions and all its subsidiaries and business units (collectively referred to as ” Total Lab Solutions ” in this Notice), except to the extent that a subsidiary, division, or business unit of Total Lab Solutions performs occupational screening, clinical trials tests, or other services that do not involve standard electronic transactions for which the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) has adopted standards.

 

Protection of Protected Health Information (PHI)

 

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Total Lab Solutions is required by law to maintain the privacy of health information that identifies you, called protected health information (PHI), and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices regarding PHI. Total Lab Solutions is committed to the protection of your PHI and will make reasonable efforts to ensure the confidentiality of your PHI, as required by statute and regulation. We take this commitment seriously and will work with you to comply with your right to receive certain information under HIPAA.

 

Total Lab Solutions Use and Disclosure of PHI

As permitted under HIPAA, the following categories explain the types of uses and disclosures of PHI that Total Lab Solutions may make. Some of the uses and disclosures described may be limited or restricted by state laws or other legal requirements—for example, the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA). Please contact our Compliance Officer, using the contact information provided at the end of this notice, for specific information regarding your state.

  • For treatment – Total Lab Solutions may use or disclose PHI for treatment purposes, including disclosure to physicians, nurses, medical students, pharmacies, and other healthcare professionals who provide you with healthcare services and/or are involved in the coordination of your care, such as providing your physician with your laboratory test results.
  • For payment – Total Lab Solutions may use or disclose PHI to bill and collect payment for laboratory services we provide. For example, Total Lab Solutions may provide PHI to your health plan to receive payment for the healthcare services provided to you.
  • For healthcare operations – Total Lab Solutions may use or disclose PHI for healthcare operations purposes. These uses and disclosures are necessary, for example, to evaluate the quality of our laboratory testing, accuracy of results, accreditation functions, and for Total Lab Solutions’ operation and management purposes. Total Lab Solutions may also disclose PHI to other healthcare providers or health plans that are involved in your care for their healthcare operations. For example, Total Lab Solutions may provide PHI to manage disease, or to coordinate healthcare or health benefits.
  • Individuals involved in your care or payment for your care – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI to a person who is involved in your care or helps pay for your care, such as a family member or friend. As allowed by federal and state law, we may disclose the PHI of minors to their parents or legal guardians.
  • Business associates – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI to its business associates to perform certain business functions or provide certain business services to Total Lab Solutions. For example, we may use another company to perform billing services on our behalf. All our business associates are required to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of your PHI. In addition, at the request of your healthcare providers or health plan, Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI to their business associates for purposes of performing certain business functions or healthcare services on their behalf. For example, we may disclose PHI to a business associate of Medicare for purposes of medical necessity review and audit.
  • Disclosure for judicial and administrative proceedings – Under certain circumstances, Total Lab Solutions may disclose your PHI during a judicial or administrative proceeding, including in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process.
  • Law enforcement – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI for law enforcement purposes or in response to a court order, warrant, subpoena or summons, or similar process authorized by law. We may also disclose PHI when the information is needed: 1) for identification or location of a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, 2) about a victim of a crime, 3) about an individual who has died, 4) in relation to criminal conduct on Total Lab Solutions premises, or 5) 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.
  • As required by law – Total Lab Solutions must disclose your PHI if required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
  • Public Health – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI for public health activities. These activities generally include: 1) disclosures to a public health authority to report, prevent or control disease, injury, or disability; 2) disclosures to report births and deaths, or to report child abuse or neglect; 3) disclosures to a person subject to the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for purposes related to the quality, safety, or effectiveness of an FDA-regulated product or activity, including reporting reactions to medications or problems with products or notifying people of recalls of products they may be using; 4) disclosures to notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition; and 5) disclosures to an employer about an employee to conduct medical surveillance in certain limited circumstances concerning work-place illness or injury.
  • Disclosure about victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI about an individual to a government authority, including social services, if we reasonably believe that an individual is a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
  • Health oversight activities – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI to a healthcare oversight agency for activities authorized by law such as audits, civil, administrative, or criminal investigations and proceedings/actions, inspections, licensure/disciplinary actions, or other activities necessary for appropriate oversight of the healthcare system, government benefit programs, and compliance with regulatory requirements and civil rights laws.
  • Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director for the purpose of identifying a deceased person, determining cause of death, or for performing some other duty authorized by law.
  • Personal Representative – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI to your personal representative, as established under applicable law, or to an administrator, executor, or other authorized individual associated with your estate.
  • Correctional institution – Total Lab Solutions may disclose the PHI of an inmate or other individual when requested by a correctional institution or law enforcement official for health, safety, and security purposes.
  • Serious threat to health or safety – Total Lab Solutions may disclose PHI if necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and/or imminent threat to health or safety to a person or the public or for law enforcement authorities to identify or apprehend an individual.
  • Research – Total Lab Solutions may use and disclose PHI for research purposes. Limited data or records may be viewed by researchers to identify patients who may qualify for their research project or for other similar purposes, so long as the researchers do not remove or copy any of the PHI. Before we use or disclose PHI for any other research activity, one of the following will happen: 1) a special committee will determine that the research activity poses minimal risk to privacy and that there is an adequate plan to safeguard PHI; 2) if the PHI relates to deceased individuals, the researchers give us assurances that the PHI is necessary for the research and will be used only as part of the research; or 3) the researcher will be provided only with information that does not identify you directly.
  • Government functions – In certain situations, Total Lab Solutions may disclose the PHI of military personnel and veterans, including Armed Forces personnel, as required by military command authorities. Additionally, we may disclose PHI to authorized officials for national security purposes, such as protecting the President of the United States, conducting intelligence, counterintelligence, other national security activities, and when requested by foreign military authorities. Disclosures will be made only in compliance with U.S. Law.
  • Workers’ compensation – As authorized by applicable laws, Total Lab Solutions may use or disclose PHI to comply with workers’ compensation or other similar programs established to provide work-related injury or illness benefits.
  • De-identified Information and Limited Data Sets – Total Lab Solutions may use and disclose health information that has been “de-identified” by removing certain identifiers making it unlikely that you could be identified. Total Lab Solutions also may disclose limited health information, contained in a “limited data set”. The limited data set does not contain any information that can directly identify you. For example, a limited data set may include your city, county, and zip code, but not your name or street address.

 

Other Uses and Disclosures of PHI

For purposes not described above, including uses and disclosures of PHI and disclosures, Total Lab Solutions will ask for patient authorization before using or disclosing PHI. If you signed an authorization form, you may revoke it, in writing, at any time, except to the extent that action has been taken in reliance on the authorization.

 

Information Breach Notification

Total Lab Solutions is required to provide patient notification if it discovers a breach of unsecured PHI unless there is a demonstration, based on a risk assessment, that there is a low probability that the PHI has been compromised. You will be notified without unreasonable delay and no later than 60 days after discovery of

the breach. Such notification will include information about what happened and what can be done to mitigate any harm.

 

Patient Rights Regarding PHI

Subject to certain exceptions, HIPAA establishes the following patient rights with respect to PHI:

  • Right to Receive a Copy of the Total Lab Solutions Notice of Privacy Practices – You have a right to receive a copy of the Total Lab Solutions Notice of Privacy Practices at any time by contacting us at info@totallabsolutions.com calling us 248-800-6626 and asking for the Total Lab Solutions Compliance Officer, or by sending a written request to: Total Lab Solutions Compliance, 1250 Stephenson Highway, Suite 200, Troy, Michigan 48083. This Notice will also be posted on the Total Lab Solutions internet site at www.totallabsolutions.com,
  • Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of your PHI – You have the right to request that we limit: 1) how we use and disclose your PHI for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations activities; or 2) our disclosure of PHI to individuals involved in your care or payment for your care. Total Lab Solutions will consider your request, but is not required to agree to it unless the requested restriction involves a disclosure that is not required by law to a health plan for payment or healthcare operations purposes and not for treatment, and you have paid for the service in full out of pocket. If we agree to a restriction on other types of disclosures, we will state the agreed restrictions in writing and will abide by them, except in emergency situations when the disclosure is for purposes of treatment.
  • Right to Request Confidential Communications – You have the right to request that Total Lab Solutions communicate with you about your PHI at an alternative address or by an alternative means. Total Lab Solutions will accommodate reasonable requests.
  • Right to See and Receive Copies of Your PHI – You and your personal representative have the right to access PHI consisting of your laboratory test results or reports ordered by your physician. Within 30 days after our receipt of your request, you will receive a copy of the completed laboratory report from Total Lab Solutions unless an exception applies. Exceptions include a determination by a licensed healthcare professional that the access requested is reasonably likely to endanger the life or safety of you or another person, and our inability to provide access to the PHI within 30 days, in which case we may extend the response time for an additional 30 days if we provide you with a written statement of the reasons for the delay and the date by which access will be provided. You have the right to access and receive your PHI in an electronic format if it is readily producible in such a format. You also have the right to direct Total Lab Solutions to transmit a copy to another person you designate, provided such request is in writing, signed by you, and clearly identifies the designated person and where to send the copy of your PHI. To request a copy of your PHI:
  • Complete the Total Lab Solutions HIPAA Patient Authorization Form.
  • Contact the Privacy Officer at 248-800-6626 or by email at info@totallabsolutions.com
  • Right to Receive an Accounting of Disclosures – You have a right to receive a list of certain instances in which Total Lab Solutions disclosed your PHI. This list will not include certain disclosures of PHI, such as (but not limited to) those made based on your written authorization or those made prior to the date on which Total Lab Solutions was required to comply. If you request an accounting of disclosures of PHI that were made for purposes other than treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, the list will include disclosures made in the past six years, unless you request a shorter period of disclosures. If you request an accounting of disclosures of PHI that were made for purposes of treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, the list will include only those disclosures made in the past three years for which an accounting is required by law, unless you request a shorter period of disclosures.
  • Right to Correct or Update your PHI – If you believe that your PHI contains a mistake, you may request, in writing, that Total Lab Solutions correct the information. If your request is denied, we will provide an explanation of the reasoning for our denial.

 

How to Exercise Your Rights

 

To exercise any of your rights described in this notice, you must send a written request to: Total Lab Solutions Compliance Officer 1250 Stephenson Highway, Suite 200, Troy, Michigan 48083. Except, patients may update insurance and/or billing information by contacting the Patient Billing Department using the phone number indicated on the billing invoice.

How to Contact Us or File a Complaint

If you have questions or comments regarding the Total Lab Solutions Notice of Privacy Practices, or have a complaint about our use or disclosure of your PHI or our privacy practices, please contact: info@totallabsolutions.com call us at 248-800-6626 and ask for the Total Lab Solutions Compliance Officer, or send a written request to: Total Lab Solutions Compliance Officer 1250 Stephenson Highway, Suite 200, Troy, Michigan 48083. You also may file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Total Lab Solutions will not take retaliatory action against you for filing a complaint about our privacy practices.

Changes to the Total Lab Solutions Notice of Privacy Practices

Total Lab Solutions reserves the right to make changes to this notice and to our privacy policies from time to time. Changes adopted will apply to any PHI we maintain about you. Total Lab Solutions is required to abide by the terms of our notice currently in effect. When changes are made, we will promptly update this notice and post the information on the Total Lab Solutions website at www.totallabsolutions.com. Please review this site periodically to ensure that you are aware of any such updates.

Effective Date of Notice: April 02, 2022 | Revised: November 3, 2022.

Privacy Policy

Updated: 11/03/2022

Total Lab Solutions (“TLS” or “we” or “us”) takes your privacy very seriously. This policy describes how we use the information that you provide when using our website, www.totallabsolutions.com, (our “Site”). By using our Site, you agree to and consent to the collection and use of your information as described below.

The owner of the Site is based in Troy, Michigan in the United States. We provide this website for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the website or any of its content is accessible

or appropriate outside of the United States. If you access the website from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

If you do not want us to use your information or your data as stated in this Privacy Policy, please do not use our Site.

Information We Collect

Device Information

We may collect some device information from you. This includes information that tracks the device you use to access our Site (such as the type of device, the time and date of your access, your browser type, IP address, and other information related to how your device interacts with our Site, but this is not information that could be used to identify you or contact you).

Identifying Information

You can review educational material and information about Total Lab Solutions without providing us with any identifying information. However, to access certain features of our Site (such as requesting additional information), you may be required to provide us with certain information about yourself which may include your first and last name, email address, mobile telephone number or other telephone number. If you are a healthcare provider and set up an account on our Site, we may collect additional verification information from you—such as your NPI, name of the group with whom you practice, fax number, and other information related to your practice. If we are assisting a specific question, you may also need to provide us with other information (for example, a description of why you are contacting us). If you send us comments, you will also provide us with other information in doing so.

In addition, when using our Site, you may provide us with additional information, such as:

  • Username, password, and other registration information
  • Billing information that you provide us, such as credit card information, or that we receive from a health plan, employer, or other provider of healthcare benefits on your behalf
  • Other information you input into the website or related services

If you are a patient, we treat all health information that you provide to us directly as health information under Total Lab Solutions Notice of Privacy Practices.

We may also, from time to time, request additional types of personal information. For example, we might ask you about your experience on our Site or with our services. It’s up to you whether you provide this information. We will not disclose any of this personal information unless you expressly authorize us to do so. We do not sell or lease your personal information with other parties. We may share your personal information as necessary to provide you with services and resources, as we describe below.

We may also collect your information if you sign up for newsletters or for customized information that we may deliver via emails.

Children

This Site is intended for individuals 18 or older. If you’re under 18, please do not use our Site or provide our Site with any personal information.

Cookies – “WE MAY USE COOKIES”

When you use our Site, we may use “cookies” or similar files to collect information about you and your device. Cookies are small pieces of instruction stored on your hard drive or device. They may enhance your experience as you navigate our Site. A “session cookie” disappears after you close your web browser, or may expire after a fixed period of time. A “persistent cookie” remains after you close your web browser and may be accessed every time you use our Site. We may use both session and persistent cookies. You can set your browser to warn you prior to accepting cookies and/or reject them entirely. At this time, you do not need to accept cookies in order to use our Site.

We may use Local Storage Objects (“LSOs”) such as HTML5 to store content information and preferences. Various browsers may offer their own management tools for removing HTML5 LSOs. We may not recognize or respond to “do not track” technologies employed by your browser.

We may also occasionally use “web beacons” (also known as “clear gifs,” “web bugs,” “1-pixel gifs,” etc.) that allow us to collect non-identifiable information about you. Web beacons are tiny images, placed on a web page or e-mail that can tell us if you have visited a particular area of our Site. Because web beacons are used in conjunction with persistent cookies (described above), if you set your browser to decline or deactivate cookies, web beacons cannot function.

There may be other tracking technologies now and later devised and used by us in connection with our Site. Further, third parties may use tracking technologies with our Site. We do not control those tracking technologies, and we are not responsible for them. However, you consent to potentially encountering third party tracking technologies in connection with your use of our Site and accept that this Privacy Policy does not apply to the tracking technologies or practices of such third parties. In such cases, you must check the third-party websites to confirm how your information is collected and used.

Our Site also uses Google Analytics to help our Site. collect and process data. To see how Google uses this data, go to www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/.

 

How We Use and Disclose Your Information

Uses and Disclosures

When you provide our Site with information, we typically use it to customize your experience and to provide you access to our Site and services. We use your information to help us improve the design and performance of our Site.

We may use the information you provide to send you notices that contain information about events, content, materials and services that may be of interest to you. When we do this, we do not disclose your information to third-party organizations. Unless you consent, we will not use the information provided by you in a way that is incompatible with the purposes for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by you. We will never try to sell you anything.

We may disclose your information if we need to so a third-party vendor can help us provide our services (for example if we use a vendor to help us manage our Site). We may also use other vendors. We make sure those vendors have strict confidentiality practices. We may also disclose your information if, among other things, we are required to do so by law or if acting with a good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (1) comply with legal process, including, but not limited to lawful subpoenas; (2) enforce the Terms of Use of our Site; (3) respond to legal claims; (4) respond to your requests for customer services or transaction completion; or (5) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of our Site, its users, or the public.

We will never sell your identifiable information without your explicit consent. We may use de-identified information created by us without restriction. When we use the term “de-identified information,” we mean information that cannot be used to personally identify you.

How We Secure Your Information

Our security measures are designed to protect your information from loss, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our Site has physical, electronic, and managerial procedures, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you provide to us on our Site. This protects your information and helps prevent unauthorized access. Although we take these measures to protect against unauthorized disclosure of your information, we cannot guarantee you that your Information will never be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy. You are responsible for maintaining the security and confidentiality of your usernames and passwords that you may generate while using our Site.

Opting Out of Communications from our Site

By providing your email address and phone number to us, you automatically grant permission to our Site to send communications to you, unless you opt out at that time. You may also manage your preferences and opt out of receiving email communications by clicking “unsubscribe” from an email sent to you by our Site or by contacting us at info@totallabsolutions.com.

Accessing Third-Party Sites from our Site

Our Site may provide links to websites of other organizations or companies that may offer materials and services as well as links to other sites. In using our Site or the linked sites of other organizations or companies, you may have the option to sign up for email lists operated by these organizations or companies. If you choose to request that your address be removed from the organizations’ or companies’ lists, we cannot control whether they will immediately stop using your address. To stop receiving communications from these organizations or companies, you should contact them directly.

Application of This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies only to the privacy of users of our Site. If you follow links and move from our Site to external websites owned or operated by other entities or individuals, you should read the privacy policies of those external websites carefully. The terms by which the owners or operators of those websites manage your information could differ from how our Site manages your information. Our Site is not responsible for the practices of these third parties.

Your Individual Rights

You can request that we correct or update your information through our Site.

You can request a copy of information on you that we hold.

You can request that we delete your personal information by us, however, we may be required (by law or otherwise) to keep this information and not delete it (or to keep this information for a certain time, in which case we will comply with your deletion request only after we have fulfilled such requirements).

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights under law, or as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

California Shine the Light Law

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, known as the “Shine the Light” law, permits individuals who are California residents to request and obtain from us a list of what personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year and the names and addresses of those third parties. We will never disclose your personal information to third parties for direct marketing purposes without your authorization.

Communications

Reporting Complaints

Our Site is committed to protecting your privacy and to protecting your information. If you have any complaints regarding these issues or how we process that information, or any other security-related issues regarding our Site, we urge you to contact us. Email us at info@totallabsolutions.com or call us at 248-800-6626.

Privacy Policy Updates

We may revise or enhance this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post a current version of our Privacy Policy on our Site with the date the Privacy Policy became effective. If any modification is unacceptable to you, you should quit using our Site. If you do not quit using our Site, you will be conclusively deemed to have accepted the changes.

Legal

Assignment

Your information will remain subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy even if our Site undergoes an organizational transition. However, we may transfer your information to a successor entity upon a merger, consolidation, or other reorganization in which our Site participates or to a successor assignee or licensee of all or substantially all our Site’s assets. You hereby consent to such transfers and our Site may assign and transfer all the rights, benefits, duties, and obligations of this Privacy Policy, under the circumstances described in this paragraph.

Governing Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by and incorporated by reference into the Terms of Service, and should be interpreted in a manner consistent with that terms of use. Where an inconsistency exists between this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use, this Privacy Policy shall control the relationship between the parties. If you believe we have violated this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email us at info@totallabsolutions.com or call us at 248-800-6626. If we do not satisfy your concerns regarding any alleged violation and you wish to pursue a claim against us, you agree to engage in mediation if direct negotiations fail to resolve your concerns. The period for mediation shall be thirty (30) days unless the parties mutually agree to an extension. If mediation fails, the parties will arbitrate the dispute pursuant to the applicable rules of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“JAMS”). Any arbitration shall take place in Troy, Michigan before an arbitrator chosen from JAMS. Any award shall be final, binding, and conclusive upon the parties, and a judgment rendered thereon may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitrator may award any form of remedy or relief (including injunctive relief, such as temporary restraining orders, preliminary and permanent injunctions) that would otherwise be available in court. Any award pursuant to said arbitration shall be accompanied by a written opinion of the arbitrator setting forth the reason for the award. To the extent not inconsistent with applicable laws, the arbitrator will have the authority to hear and grant motions and applications, including on an ex parte or expedited basis. The award rendered by the arbitrator shall be conclusive and binding upon the parties hereto, and judgment upon the award may be entered, and enforcement may be sought in, any court of competent jurisdiction. The prevailing party in any dispute relating to this Agreement shall be entitled to recover associated costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no arbitration under this Privacy Policy shall be joined to an arbitration involving any other party, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise.