Walmart's Pharmacy Privacy Notice (you have none basically)

edited to close the parapraph- and apologize for all the red ink. I am on a semi-rant..

I foolishly went to Wal-Mart to get my prescription filled yesterday. This notice was on the backside of the precautions/side effects sheet. The last time I stepped foot in a wal-mart was over six months ago with a friend. Now I know why I stay as far away from the store as possible. I will never, ever use them again and it looks like I need to go in and cancel any "permission" I may have inadvertantly given them by getting my prescription filled there. So much for the "protected health information".

Wal-Mart Pharmacy Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective Date: April 14, 2003
Revision Date: September 16, 2005
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.

We understand that your medical information is personal. We are committed to protecting your medical information. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and its affiliated companies ("Wal-Mart") are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information ("PHI"), to follow the terms of this Notice, and to give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices concerning your health information. We must follow the terms of the current Notice.

How Wal-Mart May Use or Disclose Your Health Information

For Treatment We may use your PHI to dispense prescriptions to you. We may disclose your PHI to treating physicians, pharmacists and other persons who are involved in dispensing your prescription.

For Payment We may use and disclose your PHI so that your pharmacy services may be billed to, and payment collected from you, your insurance company or a third party.

For Health Care Operations We may use and disclose your PHI for pharmacy operations, which include activities necessary to run the Pharmacy, and to make sure that you receive quality customer service.

For Prescription Refill Reminders and Health-Related Products and Services We may use or disclose your PHI for prescription refill reminders, to tell you about health-related products or services, or to recommend possible treatment alternatives that may be of interest to you.

Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care We may disclose your PHI to a family member or friend who is involved in your medical care or payment for your care, provided you agree to this disclosure, or we give you an opportunity to object to the disclosure. If you are unavailable or are unable to object, we will use our best judgment to decide whether this disclosure is in your best interests.

As Required by Law We will disclose your PHI 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 your PHI when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety, or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

Public Health Risks We may disclose your PHI for public health activities, such as those aimed at preventing or controlling disease, preventing injury, reporting reactions to medications or problems with products, and reporting the abuse or neglect of children, elders and dependent adults.

For Health Oversight Activities We may disclose PHI to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities, which are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, include audits, investigations, inspections and licensure.

Lawsuits and Disputes If you are involved in a lawsuit or dispute, we may disclose your PHI in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose your PHI 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 (which may include written notice), or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

Specialized Government Functions We may disclose your PHI (1) if you are a member of the armed forces, as required by military command authorities; (2) if you are an inmate, or in custody, to a correctional institution or law enforcement official; (3) in response to a request from law enforcement, under certain conditions; (4) for national security reasons authorized by law; and (5) to authorized federal officials to protect the President, other authorized persons, or foreign heads of state.

Workers' Compensation We may disclose your health information for workers' compensation or similar programs.
Incidental Disclosures at the Drive-Thru Window In some locations we offer a drive-thru window. A conversation with the pharmacy might be overheard by someone in or near the pharmacy. If you would like additional privacy, we suggest you conduct any Pharmacy transactions within the store.

Organ and Tissue Donation We may also disclose your PHI to organ procurement or similar organizations for purposes of donation or transplant.
Coroners and Funeral Directors We may release your PHI to a coroner or medical examiner, for example, to determine a person's cause of death. We may also disclose your PHI to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to enable them to carry out their duties.
Personal Representatives We may disclose your PHI to a person legally authorized to act on your behalf, such as a parent, legal guardian, administrator or executor of your estate, or other individual authorized under applicable law.

Other Uses and Disclosures of Your Health Information
Except as described in this Notice, we will not use or disclose your PHI without your written authorization. If you do give us authorization to use or disclose your PHI, you may cancel your authorization in writing at any time. If you cancel your authorization, this will stop any further use or disclosure for the purposes covered by your authorization, except where we have already acted on your permission. Please refer to the State law attachment for any stricter state laws regarding your PHI. If your state is not listed, its laws are not stricter than the federal privacy law.
You Have the Following Rights With Respect to Your Health Information in Our Records

You may request restrictions on the use or disclosure of your PHI for treatment, payment or health care operations, or when using or disclosing your PHI to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. We are not required to agree to your request. If we agree, we will comply with your request except in certain emergency situations or as required by law.

You may inspect and copy your pharmacy records, with certain exceptions. Usually, this includes prescription and billing records. We may charge you for the costs of your request. We may deny your request in some circumstances, in which case, you may request that the denial be reviewed.
You may request that we amend your health information if it is incorrect or incomplete. You must provide a reason that supports your request. We may deny your request if the health information is accurate and complete, or is not part of the health information kept by or for Wal-Mart. If we deny your request, you have the right to submit a statement of disagreement regarding any item in your record you believe is incomplete or incorrect. If you request this, it will become part of your medical record. We will attach it to your records and include it when we make a disclosure of the item or statement you believe to be incomplete or incorrect.

You may request an accounting of disclosures of your PHI. This is a list of the disclosures made of your health information, other than for treatment, payment or health care operations, and other exceptions allowed by law. Your request must specify a time period, which may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003.

You may request that we contact you in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you may request we contact you only at work or at a different residence or post office box. Your written request must state how or where you wish to be contacted. We will grant all reasonable requests.
If you would like to exercise any of these rights, contact the pharmacy location that provided your services to get the appropriate form, or submit a written request to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., HIPAA Privacy, 922 West Walnut, Suite A, Mailstop #3540, Rogers, AR 72756-3540. A paper copy of this Notice may be obtained from your Wal-Mart, SAM'S CLUB, or Neighborhood Market Pharmacy upon request, or online at www.walmart.com or www.samsclub.com.

Changes to this Notice of Privacy Practices
We reserve the right to change this Notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed Notice effective for PHI we already have about you and any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current Notice in the pharmacy. If we change our Notice, you may obtain a copy of the revised Notice by visiting our Web site at www.walmart.com or www.samsclub.com, or upon request.

For More Information or to Report a Problem
If you have questions about this Notice, contact HIPAA Privacy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 922 West Walnut, Suite A, Mailstop #3540, Rogers, AR 72756-3540, or call 1-800-WAL-MART. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a written complaint, and there will be no retaliation, with the Compliance Officer at the above address, or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights.

They are one of the driving forces behind our trade imbalance with China, the demise of our economy, the plight of our workers, and...well, they're just plain evil. And yes, I know that Target and plenty of other corporations are involved as well, but Wal-Mart has a history of doing truly nefarious things - and then covering them up.

Check out the movie Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price sometime if you haven't seen it.

I used to be a Sam's Club member a few years ago, and I'm still embarrassed by that fact. I'll never shop there or Wal-Mart again - unless there is a DRAMATIC turnaround in how they operate.

the privacy agreements are similar, if not identical, for most, if not all, other retail pharmacy

some money, but looks like I sold my soul to do so.

I don't shop at WalMart, and I would certainly never go there to have a prescription filled.

But isn't this sort of legalese kind of the standard stuff that all pharmacies say regarding Personal Health Information?

I'm pretty sure that my own pharmacy -- a national chain -- has pretty much this same policy regarding my PHI.

I am trying to get a toll-free number from a supervisor, but am still on hold.

by the pharmacist to recommend like or useful products. She claims that it doesn't go beyond the pharmacy, but that is NOT how it is worded on the privacy disclosure...

Walgreens: http://www.walgreens.com/help/noticeprivacypractices.jsp

CVS: http://www.cvs.com/corpInfo/privacy/index.html

Rite Aid: http://www.riteaid.com/home/privacy_practices.jsf