NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION,
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
THE PRIVACY OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO US.
OUR LEGAL DUTIES
SALUS is required by law to maintain the privacy of personal health, financial and insurance information, to provide individuals with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your information and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured personal information. This notice informs you on our privacy practices and your rights regarding your health information. We will follow the privacy practices described in this notice while it is in effect.
This notice contains some examples of the types of information we collect and describe the types of uses and disclosures we execute. The examples provided are for illustrative purposes and shall not be construed as a complete listing of such uses and disclosures.
SALUS must abide by the terms of this Notice. We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this notice and provide an updated notice to our active patients. This notice is effective as of February 1, 2026
ORGANIZATIONS COVERED BY THIS NOTICE
SALUS
SALUS URGENT CARE
SUMMARY OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Our pledge is to limit to the minimum necessary the information we collect in order to provide health care services. As part of our administrative functions, we may collect your personal, financial or health information from sources such as:
- applications and other documents you have provided to obtain a product or medical service;
- transactions you make with us;
- consumer credit reporting agencies;
- other healthcare providers;
- Government health programs
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
SALUS no divulgará ni utilizará su información para ningún otro propósito que no sea los mencionados en este Aviso a no ser que usted provea una autorización por escrito. Usted tiene derecho a revocar la autorización por escrito en cualquier momento, pero su revocación no afectará los usos o divulgaciones permitidos por su autorización mientras la misma estuvo vigente. SALUS no divulgará información para propósito de recaudación de fondos.
In our health care provider roles, we need your consent to use and disclose your information for activities related to your medical treatment, managing payment for medical services, and health care operations. SALUS may use and disclose PHI to:
Disclosures to You: We are required to disclose most of your PHI to you. This includes, but is not limited to, results from your labs and private and copy of medical records. For example: You have the right to request a copy of your medical record that includes SALUS services, prescription drug history, and any other information that is related to your protected health information.
Treatment: To a physician or other health care provider who provides medical services to you.
Payment: To pay your medical claims, to determine your eligibility for benefits, to coordinate your benefits with other payers, or to collect premiums, and the like.
Health Care Operations: For audits, legal services, including fraud and abuse, business planning, general administration, and patient safety activities, credentialing, disease management, training of medical or pharmacy students.
We may disclose your health information to another health plan or to a health care provider subject to federal or local privacy protection laws, as long as the plan or provider has or had a relationship with you.
Medical expenses covered by you. If you pay out-of-pocket for medical services, Salus will require your authorization in case an insurer is interested in examining the documentation of those services.
Affiliated Covered Entities. These companies are subject to the same statutes that require protection for your protected health information.
Business Associates: Our use of PHI for the treatment, payment, or health care operations described above (or for other uses or disclosures described in this Notice) may involve disclosure of your PHI to certain other individuals or entities with whom we have contracted to perform or provide certain services on our behalf (Business Associates). We may also allow our Business Associates to create, receive, maintain, or transmit your PHI on our behalf in order for the Business Associate to provide services to us, or for the appropriate administration or management of the Business Associate, or to fulfill the Business Partner’s legal responsibilities. These Business Partners include attorneys, consultants, billing companies, and other third parties. Our Business Associates may re-disclose your PHI to contractors so that these contractors can provide services to Business Associates. These contractors will be subject to the same restrictions and conditions that apply to our Business Partners. When such an arrangement with a Business Associate involves the use or disclosure of your PHI, we will have a written contract with our Business Associate that will contain terms designed to protect the privacy of your PHI.
For Research Purposes: We may use or disclose your PHI to researchers, if an Institutional Review Board or Ethics Committee has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your information and has approved the research as part of a limited set of data.
As Required by Law: We may use or disclose PHI when Federal, State, or Local Law requires its use or disclosure. In this Notice, the term “as required by law” is defined as provided in the HIPAA Privacy Rule. For these purposes, your authorization or the opportunity to approve or object will not be required. The information will be disclosed in compliance with the safeguards established and required by the Law.
Legal Proceedings: We may use or disclose your PHI during the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding pursuant to any order (to the extent such disclosure is expressly authorized); or in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other process authorized by law.
Forensic Pathologists, Funeral Directors, and Organ Donation Cases: We may use or disclose your PHI to a Forensic Pathologist for purposes of identifying a deceased person, determining cause of death, or performing other tasks authorized by law. We may also disclose information to funeral directors so that they may perform their duties related to the deceased and to organizations that handle the acquisition, storage, or transplantation of organs, eyes, or tissues.
Workers’ Compensation: We may disclose your PHI to comply with workers’ compensation laws and other similar programs established by law, which provide benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses, without regard to fault.
Disaster and Emergency Relief, Government Benefit Programs: We may disclose your PHI to a public or private entity authorized by law or statute that is involved in a disaster relief effort. In this way, your family can be notified of your health condition and location in the event of a disaster or other emergency.
Substance Use Disorder Treatment Records: As provided for under federal law, we will not use or disclose the content of your protected substance use disorder treatment records in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings against you without your written consent or a subpoena or other legal mandate that is accompanied by a special court order providing you or the holder of the record with an opportunity to be heard.
Regulatory Agency Monitoring Activities: We may disclose health information to a regulatory agency such as the Federal Department of Health (DHHS) for purposes of audits, regulatory compliance monitoring, investigations, inspections, or licensing. These disclosures may be required for certain state and federal agencies to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
Public Health and Safety Activities: We may use and disclose your medical information when required or permitted by law for the following activities, for these purposes, your authorization or the opportunity to approve or object shall not be required:
- Public health activities, including the reporting of disease statistics and vital information, specialized government functions, among others
- Regulatory Agency Monitoring and Fraud Prevention
- Reporting abuse or neglect against minors or adults or domestic violence
- Activities of regulatory agencies
- Responding to court or administrative orders
- To law enforcement officers or national security matters
- To prevent an imminent threat to public health or safety
- For organ, eye, or tissue storage or transplantation purposes
- For statistical research purposes
- For purposes of descendants
- As required or permitted by applicable laws
Military Activity and Homeland Security, Protective Services: We may disclose your PHI to military command authorities if you are a member of the Armed Forces or a veteran.
Health-Related Products and Services: We may use your medical information to inform you about health-related products, benefits and services we provide or treatment alternatives that may be of interest to you. We will call or send you reminders of your medical appointments or the preventive services that you need according to your age or health condition.
With Your Authorization: You may give us a written authorization to disclose your medical information to anyone for any purpose. Activities such as marketing of non-health related products services or use of your psychotherapy notes or the sale of health information must be authorized by you. In these cases, your health care won’t be affected if you denied the authorization. Other uses and disclosures not described in the notice will be made only with the individual’s written authorization
You may revoke the authorization in writing at any time. Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosure permitted by your authorization while it was in effect. We will keep copies of the authorizations and revocations executed by you.
Family and Friends Involved in Your Care or Payment for Care: To a family member or friend you involve in your health care or payment for your health care, unless you request a restriction. We will disclose only the medical information that is relevant to the person’s involvement.
Before we make such a disclosure, we will provide you with an opportunity to object. If you are not present or disabled or in case of emergency we will use our professional judgment to determine whether disclosing your medical information is in your best interest.
Terminated accounts: We will not share the data of persons who are no longer our customers or who do not maintain a service relationship with us, except as required or permitted by law.
Security safeguards: We have implemented physical, technical and administrative safeguards to limit access to your personal information. Our employees and business associates are trained and know their duty to protect and maintain the privacy of your medical information, and are committed to comply with the highest security and privacy standards to handle your information in a responsible manner.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
Access: You have the right to examine and receive a copy of your protected health information on enrollment and claims within the limits and exceptions provided by law. You must make a written request. Upon receipt of your request, we will have five (5) business days to do any of the following activities:
- Provide the requested information or allow you to examine your information during working hours
- Inform you that we do not have the requested information, in which case, we will guide you where to find it if we know the source
- Deny the request, partially or in its entirety, because the information originates from a confidential source or was compiled in anticipation of a legal proceeding, investigations by law enforcement agencies, the anti-fraud unit, or quality assurance programs for which disclosures are prohibited by law. We will notify you in writing of the reasons for the denial, except in the event there’s an ongoing investigation or in anticipation of a legal proceeding.
The first report will be free of charge, but we may charge you reasonable, cost-based fees for subsequent reports. If you request the report in a special format, you may have to pay an additional charge.
Disclosure Accounting: You have the right to a list of instances after April 14, 2003, in which we disclose your protected health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, health care operations, as authorized by you, and for certain other activities.
Restriction: You have the right to request that we restrict our use or disclosure of your health information, if such disclosure may put your life at risk, as in a case of domestic violence. We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will abide by our agreement, except in a medical emergency, as required or authorized by law and for protected health information pertains solely to a health care item or service for which the individual, or person other than the health plan on behalf of the individual, has paid the in full. Any agreement we may make to a request for restriction must be in writing signed by an authorized officer.
Confidential Communication: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your medical information in confidence by alternative means or to alternative locations if your life may be at risk. You must make your request in writing, and your request must represent that the information could endanger you if it is not communicated in confidence as you request.
We will accommodate your request if it is reasonable, specifies the alternative means or location for confidential communication, and continues to permit us to collect premiums and pay claims under your health plan, including issuance of explanations of benefits to the subscriber.
Amendment. You have the right to request that we amend your health information. Your request must be in writing, and it must explain and justify the amendment requested. Within 60 days we will execute the amendment. If we need additional time, we will request you in writing an additional period of 30 days prior to the termination of the original period.
If we deny your request, we will provide you a written explanation. You have the right to request that we include your statement of disagreement with the determination taken by us in future disclosures of the disputed information. If we accept your request, we will make your amendment part of your record and use reasonable efforts to inform our business associates and others who we know may have and rely on the unamended information.
Business closure. In the event of business closure, we will communicate with you to let you know how to obtain your claims history and any other information.
Notice of security breaches in which your health information may be at risk: You are entitled to be notified by any means if the security breach is the result of not having your information secured by technologies or methodologies approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Paper Copy: If you receive this notice on our web site (www.saluspr.com) or by e-mail, you are entitled to obtain a paper copy of the notice from the covered entity upon request
Questions and Complaints
If you want more information about our privacy practices or have questions or concerns, please contact us. All the forms to exercise your rights are available at: www.saluspr.com.
If you are concerned that we or any of our business associates may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your health information, in response to a request you made to amend, restrict the use or disclosure of, or communicate in confidence about your health information, you may complain to us using the contact information at the end of this notice. You also may submit a written complaint to the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) at: 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Room 509F HHH Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20201.; telephone (800) 368-1019 Fax: (202) 619-3818 TDD: (800) 537- 7697. Email: OCRComplaint@hhs.gov
We support your right to the privacy of your health information. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the DHHS.
Contact Office: COMPLIANCE AND PRIVACY OFFICE SALUS
Office: Departamento de Cumplimiento
Attention: Privacy Officer
Telephone: (787) 789-1996
Fax: (787) 993-3260
E-mail: saluscompliance@saluspr.com
Address: P. O. Box 11320 San Juan, PR 00922
If you would like a copy of this notice in Spanish, please contact us using the contact information listed above.
