1. About this Notice
This Notice of Privacy Practices ("Notice") describes how Aries Mens Health, a brand operated by Ariez Biocorp LLC, and our treating clinician, Dr. Todd Halper, MD (NY License #253833-01), and any workforce members or business associates acting on our behalf (collectively, "we," "us," or "our"), may use and disclose your Protected Health Information ("PHI") to carry out treatment, payment, and healthcare operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your PHI.
This Notice is provided in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health ("HITECH") Act, the implementing regulations at 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164, the New York Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act ("SHIELD Act," N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §899-bb), New York Public Health Law §18 (records access), and other applicable federal and state laws.
"Protected Health Information" or "PHI" means individually identifiable health information that we create or receive, including information that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health, the provision of healthcare to you, or payment for healthcare. PHI includes information transmitted or maintained in any form or medium, including electronic PHI ("ePHI").
2. How we may use and disclose your PHI without your written authorization
2.1 Treatment
We may use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your healthcare and related services. For example, our clinician may review your laboratory results to develop a hormone optimization protocol, share your relevant history with a partner pharmacy to dispense a medication, or coordinate with a phlebotomy lab to draw your blood. We may also share PHI with other clinicians involved in your care.
2.2 Payment
We may use and disclose your PHI to obtain payment for the healthcare services we provide. Aries Mens Health does not bill insurance directly; however, payment activities may include billing you, processing your credit card, providing receipts, or providing information necessary for you to seek reimbursement from your insurer or health savings account.
2.3 Healthcare operations
We may use and disclose your PHI to support our internal operations, including quality assessment and improvement, clinician training and credentialing, peer review, accreditation, certification (including LegitScript Healthcare Merchant Certification), licensing, business planning, customer service, and other administrative activities. For example, we may use de-identified or aggregated information to evaluate clinical outcomes or refine our protocols.
2.4 Required by law
We will use and disclose your PHI when required to do so by federal, state, or local law, court order, subpoena, or administrative warrant.
2.5 Public health activities
We may disclose your PHI for public-health activities, including reporting communicable diseases, adverse drug reactions, child or adult abuse or neglect, or for product recalls.
2.6 Health oversight, judicial proceedings, and law enforcement
We may disclose your PHI to health-oversight agencies for activities authorized by law (such as audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure), in response to a court or administrative order, or to law enforcement officials as permitted or required by law.
2.7 Coroners, funeral directors, and organ donation
We may disclose PHI to coroners, medical examiners, funeral directors, or organ-procurement organizations as permitted by law.
2.8 Workers' compensation
We may disclose PHI as authorized by, and to the extent necessary to comply with, applicable workers'-compensation laws.
2.9 Serious threat to health or safety
We may disclose PHI when necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.
2.10 Specialized government functions and national security
We may disclose PHI for specialized government functions, including military and veterans' activities, national-security and intelligence activities, protective services for the President, and correctional institutions, as authorized by law.
2.11 Business associates
Certain functions of our practice are performed by third parties acting as business associates under HIPAA — for example, our intake-form vendor, our patient-communications platform, our cloud-email and document provider, and our dispensing pharmacy. These business associates have signed Business Associate Agreements with us and are required by contract and by law to safeguard your PHI.
3. Heightened protections under New York and federal law
Some categories of information receive additional protection under New York and federal law. We will not disclose the following without your specific written authorization, except in the limited circumstances permitted by the applicable statute:
- HIV/AIDS-related information (NY Public Health Law Article 27-F).
- Mental-health information (NY Mental Hygiene Law §33.13, where applicable).
- Substance-use disorder treatment records from federally assisted programs (42 C.F.R. Part 2, where applicable).
- Genetic information (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. §2000ff and N.Y. Civil Rights Law §79-l).
- Reproductive-health information (in accordance with applicable federal and New York law).
4. Uses and disclosures that require your written authorization
Other uses and disclosures of your PHI not described in this Notice will be made only with your written authorization. This includes:
- Most uses or disclosures of psychotherapy notes (where applicable).
- Uses or disclosures for marketing purposes, except for face-to-face communications and certain promotional gifts of nominal value.
- Disclosures that constitute a sale of PHI.
- Any other use or disclosure not otherwise permitted by HIPAA or applicable state law.
You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance on it.
5. Your rights regarding your PHI
You have the following rights with respect to your PHI:
5.1 Right of access
You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI in our designated record set, in the form and format you request if readily producible (including electronic copies of ePHI), in accordance with 45 C.F.R. §164.524 and N.Y. Public Health Law §18. We will respond to your request within 30 days (or 60 days where permitted), and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.
5.2 Right to amend
You have the right to request that we amend PHI in our designated record set that you believe is incorrect or incomplete, in accordance with 45 C.F.R. §164.526. We may deny your request in limited circumstances, and you have the right to submit a statement of disagreement that will be included with future disclosures.
5.3 Right to an accounting of disclosures
You have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures of your PHI made by us in the six years preceding your request, in accordance with 45 C.F.R. §164.528. The first accounting in any twelve-month period is free; we may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for additional accountings.
5.4 Right to request restrictions
You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your PHI for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, and on disclosures to family members or others involved in your care. We are not required to agree to your request, except that we must agree to a request to restrict disclosure to a health plan if the disclosure is for payment or healthcare operations and you have paid for the service in full out of pocket (45 C.F.R. §164.522(a)).
5.5 Right to confidential communications
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your PHI by alternative means or at alternative locations (for example, by email instead of phone, or to an address other than your home), in accordance with 45 C.F.R. §164.522(b). We will accommodate reasonable requests.
5.6 Right to a paper or electronic copy of this Notice
You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically. To request a paper copy, email support@ariesmenshealth.com or call (516) 540-2399.
5.7 Right to be notified of a breach
You have the right to be notified following a breach of your unsecured PHI, in accordance with the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule (45 C.F.R. §§164.400–414), N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §899-aa, and the SHIELD Act.
6. Our duties
We are required by law to:
- Maintain the privacy and security of your PHI.
- Provide you with this Notice describing our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI.
- Notify you if a breach of your unsecured PHI occurs, as described above.
- Abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect.
We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all PHI we maintain. The current version of this Notice is always available at ariesmenshealth.com/notice-of-privacy-practices.
7. Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a written complaint with us by contacting our Privacy Officer at the address below, or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201
Toll-Free: 1-800-368-1019 · TDD: 1-800-537-7697
www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints/
You may also file a complaint with the New York State Attorney General's Health Care Bureau or the New York State Department of Health, Office of Professional Medical Conduct, where applicable. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint, and filing a complaint will not affect your access to care.
8. Contact our Privacy Officer
Questions about this Notice, requests to exercise any of your rights, or complaints regarding our handling of your PHI should be directed to our Privacy Officer:
Privacy Officer · Aries Mens Health
Ariez Biocorp LLC
82 Merrick Road
Amityville, NY 11701
Email: support@ariesmenshealth.com
Phone: (516) 540-2399
This Notice is provided in addition to our Privacy Policy (which describes our website and general data practices), our Telehealth Informed Consent, our Terms of Service, and our Medical Disclaimer.