Website Privacy Policy

LifeChoice is a healthcare provider.

Certain information that LifeChoice creates, receives, maintains, or transmits in connection with providing healthcare services may constitute Protected Health Information (“PHI”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and other applicable healthcare privacy laws.

LifeChoice’s use and disclosure of PHI are governed by applicable law and our Notice of Privacy Practices (“NPP”).

This Website Privacy Policy is separate from, and does not replace, our Notice of Privacy Practices.

If information submitted through the Site becomes PHI maintained by LifeChoice in our capacity as a healthcare provider, applicable healthcare privacy laws and the Notice of Privacy Practices will apply to that information. If there is a conflict between this Website Privacy Policy and applicable requirements governing PHI, the applicable healthcare privacy requirements will control.

A copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices is available on our website and upon request.

Depending on how you use the Site, we may collect the following categories of information.

Information You Provide Directly

You may provide information including:

• first and last name;
• telephone number;
• email address;
• mailing address or county;
• messages, questions, and feedback;
• information submitted in consultation requests;
• information provided when requesting information about LifeChoice services;
• referral information;
• information about a patient or prospective patient;
• insurance coverage information;
• insurance or member identification information;
• date of birth;
• information relevant to determining potential hospice or service eligibility;
• information contained in documents or attachments you voluntarily provide; and
• other information you choose to submit.
Please do not provide medical or health information through a general contact or feedback form unless the information is reasonably necessary for your request.

Referral Information

When a referral is submitted, we may collect information concerning both the person submitting the referral and the prospective patient, including names, contact information, county, referral details, and other information necessary to review and respond to the referral.

If you provide information about another person, you should provide only information that you are legally permitted to provide.

Insurance and Eligibility Information

When you request insurance or eligibility assistance, we may collect information such as:

• name;
• telephone number;
• date of birth;
• insurance type;
• insurance identification or member number;
• Medicare or Medicaid-related information;
• applicable coverage dates; and
• other information reasonably necessary to review the request.
Submitting this information does not guarantee eligibility, admission, insurance coverage, or payment.

Feedback Information

If you submit feedback, we may collect your name, contact information, county, the content of your feedback, and information necessary to investigate or respond to your comments.

Employment Information

The Site may display employment opportunities or direct applicants to third-party employment platforms.

If you apply through a third-party platform, information collected by that platform is also subject to the platform’s own privacy policy and terms.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, we and service providers supporting the Site may automatically receive information such as:

• Internet Protocol (“IP”) address;
• browser and device type;
• operating system;
• approximate geographic region derived from IP address;
• referring and exit pages;
• pages viewed;
• links or buttons clicked;
• date and time of access;
• device identifiers or cookie identifiers;
• Site interaction and performance information; and
• diagnostic and security information.

We may use information collected through the Site to:

• respond to questions and requests;
• provide information about hospice, palliative care, and related services;
• respond to consultation requests;
• review and process referrals;
• contact prospective patients, family members, caregivers, or referral sources;
• review insurance or potential eligibility information;
• coordinate appropriate next steps concerning requested services;
• communicate with you concerning the purpose for which you contacted us;
• review and respond to feedback;
• improve the Site and user experience;
• maintain, troubleshoot, and secure the Site;
• analyze Site performance and usage;
• prevent fraud, abuse, security incidents, and unauthorized activity;
• comply with healthcare, legal, regulatory, accreditation, and recordkeeping requirements;
• protect the rights, safety, and property of patients, Site users, LifeChoice, and others;
• recruit and evaluate employment candidates where applicable; and
• carry out other purposes disclosed at the time information is collected or otherwise permitted by law.
Where information constitutes PHI, LifeChoice will use or disclose that information only as permitted or required under applicable healthcare privacy laws and our Notice of Privacy Practices.

We may disclose personal information in the circumstances described below.

Service Providers

We may provide information to vendors and service providers that perform services on our behalf, such as:

• website hosting and maintenance;
• website form processing;
• cybersecurity;
• cloud hosting or storage;
• communications;
• analytics;
• technical support;
• document management;
• operational support; and
• other services necessary to operate our Site and organization.
When a vendor handles PHI on LifeChoice’s behalf and qualifies as a business associate under HIPAA, LifeChoice will address applicable HIPAA requirements, including entering into a Business Associate Agreement when required.

Healthcare and Operational Purposes

Information may be disclosed as permitted by applicable law for purposes related to treatment, payment, healthcare operations, care coordination, insurance verification, referrals, or other healthcare activities.

Additional information about permitted uses and disclosures of PHI is provided in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

Legal and Safety Requirements

We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to:

• comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, court order, or government request;
• satisfy healthcare reporting or regulatory obligations;
• investigate suspected fraud or unlawful activity;
• protect the security of our systems;
• protect the rights or safety of LifeChoice, our patients, Site users, employees, or others; or
• establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.
Business Transactions

If LifeChoice is involved in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, financing, sale of assets, or similar transaction, information may be transferred as permitted by applicable law and subject to applicable healthcare privacy requirements.

Healthcare-related websites require particular care when using analytics, advertising, pixels, cookies, and similar tracking technologies.

LifeChoice may use website analytics and related technologies to understand Site performance and improve the Site.

We do not intend for analytics or advertising technologies to collect the contents of information that users enter into fields specifically designed for medical, insurance, eligibility, or patient referral information.

We evaluate the use of tracking technologies in light of applicable healthcare privacy requirements and other privacy laws.

Information that constitutes PHI will not be disclosed to a third party for a purpose prohibited by HIPAA merely because a tracking or analytics technology is present on the Site.

We may use cookies, pixels, tags, local storage, and similar technologies for purposes including:

• operating Site functionality;
• remembering preferences;
• maintaining security;
• measuring Site traffic and performance;
• understanding how visitors interact with the Site;
• improving Site design and content; and
• supporting embedded content.
Technologies used on the Site may include services such as Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, YouTube or other embedded media services, and other website technologies enabled from time to time.

Some third parties may receive technical information such as IP address, device information, cookie identifiers, or information concerning interactions with embedded content.

For additional information and available cookie choices, please review our Cookie Policy.

You may also control many cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect Site functionality.

LifeChoice does not sell PHI.

LifeChoice does not use or disclose PHI for advertising or marketing in a manner prohibited by HIPAA or other applicable law.

Certain website technologies may be considered “targeted advertising,” “sharing,” or similar activity under some state privacy laws even where no money is exchanged. Where such laws apply to LifeChoice and the relevant information is not otherwise exempt, LifeChoice will provide any notices and choices required by applicable law.

If you provide contact information, we may use it to respond to your request or communicate about referrals, eligibility, services, scheduling, care coordination, or other matters related to the reason you contacted LifeChoice.

Standard email and SMS/text messaging are not always secure. Do not send unnecessary sensitive medical information through unsecured email or text.

Where applicable law requires separate consent for marketing or promotional calls or text messages, we will obtain the required consent.

We retain personal information for only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including:

• responding to inquiries;
• processing referrals or eligibility requests;
• providing healthcare services;
• maintaining appropriate business and healthcare records;
• complying with legal, regulatory, contractual, accreditation, and insurance requirements;
• resolving disputes; and
• protecting our legal rights.
Retention periods may differ depending on the type of information and whether the information forms part of a patient or healthcare record.

PHI and healthcare records are retained in accordance with applicable healthcare record-retention requirements and LifeChoice policies.

LifeChoice uses administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information against unauthorized access, use, alteration, loss, or disclosure.

Where HIPAA applies, we implement safeguards required by applicable HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule requirements.

However, no website, electronic transmission, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

If you believe information submitted to LifeChoice may have been compromised, please contact us using the information below.

Depending on the type of information involved and the law that applies to your circumstances, you may have rights concerning your personal information.

These may include rights to:

• request access to certain information;
• request correction of inaccurate information;
• request deletion of certain information;
• request restrictions on certain processing;
• request information regarding certain disclosures;
• object to or opt out of certain uses of information; or
• receive information in a portable format where required by law.
These rights are not absolute and may be subject to exceptions.

Different rights and procedures apply to PHI. Rights relating to your health records and PHI are explained in LifeChoice’s Notice of Privacy Practices.

We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a privacy request.

LifeChoice will not unlawfully discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right provided by applicable law.

Residents of certain U.S. states may have additional privacy rights if the applicable state privacy law applies to LifeChoice and the information at issue.

Healthcare information subject to HIPAA and certain other healthcare information may be exempt from some state consumer privacy laws.

Where an applicable state privacy law provides additional rights concerning information that is not exempt, LifeChoice will process valid requests in accordance with that law.

If applicable law requires recognition of an opt-out preference signal or similar mechanism, LifeChoice will handle such signals as required by law.

LifeChoice primarily provides healthcare services in Illinois, United States.

If you access the Site from another country, information may be processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your country.

The fact that the Site can be accessed outside the United States does not mean that LifeChoice offers healthcare services in every jurisdiction.

Where an international privacy law applies to a particular processing activity, we will comply with applicable requirements.

The Site is not designed to solicit personal information directly from children under 13 without appropriate involvement of a parent, guardian, or other authorized person.

If we learn that a child submitted personal information through the Site in circumstances where parental authorization or another legal basis was required, we will take appropriate steps consistent with applicable law.

This section does not prevent a parent, guardian, healthcare professional, or other authorized person from providing information concerning a minor when requesting healthcare information or services.

The Site may contain links to third-party websites or embedded third-party content.

Those third parties may collect information independently and are governed by their own privacy policies.

LifeChoice is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of third-party websites that we do not control.

Patients and prospective patients may have additional rights concerning PHI under HIPAA and other healthcare privacy laws.

Please review LifeChoice’s Notice of Privacy Practices for information concerning:

• how LifeChoice may use and disclose PHI;
• your rights concerning your health information;
• LifeChoice’s legal duties;
• how to request access to or amendment of health information;
• how to request restrictions or confidential communications; and
• how to make a privacy complaint.
You may request a paper copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices at any time.

We may update this Website Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our Site, technology, privacy practices, or legal requirements.

When we make changes, we will update the Effective Date shown at the top of this page.

Material changes will be addressed in a manner appropriate to the nature of the change and applicable law.

If you have questions about this Website Privacy Policy or privacy practices relating to the Site, contact:

Privacy Officer
LifeChoice Hospice and Palliative Care
800 E Northwest Hwy, Suite 526
Palatine, IL 60074
United States

Phone: 847-777-8888
Email: info@mylifechoice.org

Website: https://www.mylifechoice.org/

For questions concerning your rights relating to Protected Health Information, please also refer to LifeChoice’s Notice of Privacy Practices.