Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.
This notice describes how healthcare information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Get a copy of your paper or electronic medical record
- Correct your paper or electronic medical record
- Request confidential communication
- Ask us to limit the information we share
- Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your information
- Get a copy of this privacy notice
- Choose someone to act for you
- File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated
Your Choices
You have some choices in the way that we use and share information:
- Whether we tell family and friends about your care
- Provide disaster relief
- Market our services
- Raise funds
- Provide mental health care
We do not “sell” your information. You have the right to notify us that you do not wish to receive any marketing information and/or fund-raising information, in which case we will remove you from those processes after you notify us in writing that you do not wish to receive those materials.
Our Uses and Disclosures
We may use and share your information as we:
- Treat you
- Run our organization
- Bill for your services
- Help with public health and safety issues
- Do research
- Comply with the law
- Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
- Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
- Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
- Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
Ambient Listening
Valley View providers may utilize HIPAA compliant artificial intelligence tools during the course of a patient visit to assist with documenting the care provided and summarizing your visit with our providers. This involves temporary recording of your visit. These recordings are not retained after completion of the visit. If you do not wish to be recorded, you must advise your provider at each encounter, and if the provider is able to accommodate the request, they will let you know at that time. Otherwise, your consent for these recordings is implied.
Records of Substance Use Disorder Treatment
We do not operate a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment Program at this time and we have no “discrete unit” within Valley View Health Center that currently provides such treatment, although in the past we may have. To the extent that we have your SUD patient records, subject to 42 CFR part 2, we will not share that information without (1) your written consent or (2) a court order and a subpoena and except as authorized by you in writing we will not share your SUD records with any third party absent your written consent, a court order or subpoena. We will attempt to notify you at your last known address if we receive a court order or subpoena for such records.
Mere references to the fact that you may have received some form of SUD Treatment at another location may be contained within your patient records with us and may be released for purposes of Treatment, Payment or Healthcare Operations as well as any specific third-party release of information (ROI) authorized by you, unless you identify and notify us not to release such records as part of your authorization.
Your Rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.
- Get an electronic or paper copy of your health record
- You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. For more information click here.
- Some records can be accessed or requested through our patient portal (either desktop or mobile options are available). To request a patient portal account visit: https://vvhc.org/patient-portal/.
- We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
- Ask us to correct your health care records. You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days and we will include your request for correction in your health record. See how to contact us below.
- Request confidential communication. You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home, office, or cell phone) or to send mail to a different address. We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests, and we will provide you with an explanation if we are unable to conform to your request.
- Ask us to limit what we use or share. You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no,” for example, if it could affect your care. If we agree to your request, we may still share this information in the event that you need emergency treatment and/or for payment purposes. If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
- Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information. You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for at least six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why. We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months. If you wish to receive a copy of whom we have shared your information with, please contact us.
- Get a copy of this privacy notice. You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
- Choose someone to act for you. If someone has authority to act as your personal representative, such as if someone has your medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
- File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated. You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us using the information on page 1. You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Your Choices
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.
- In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
- Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care or payment for your care
- Share information in a disaster relief situation
- If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
- In the case of fundraising: We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.
- If we have your substance use disorder patient records, subject to 42 CFR part 2, we will give you clear and obvious notice in advance and a choice about whether to receive fundraising communications that use your Part 2 information.
Our Uses and Disclosures
How do we typically use or share your health information?
We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
- Treat you. We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.
- Run our organization. We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary. Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.
- Bill for your services. We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.
- How else can we use or share your health information? We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. In all cases, including those listed below, if we have substance use disorder patient records about you, subject to 42 CFR part 2, we cannot use or share information in those records in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigations or proceedings against you without (1) your consent or (2) a court order and a subpoena.
- Help with public health and safety issues. We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:
- Preventing disease
- Helping with product recalls
- Reporting adverse reactions to medications
- Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
- Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
- Do research. We can use or share your de-identified information for health research (meaning there is no way to associate you as an individual with the information that was used by the researchers).
- Comply with the law. We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
- Respond to organ and tissue donation requests. We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
- Work with a medical examiner or funeral director. We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.
- Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests. We can use or share health information about you:
- For workers’ compensation claims
- For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
- With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
- For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services
- Respond to lawsuits and legal actions. We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.
- We never market or sell personal information.
Our Responsibilities
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information once we learn of the likelihood that such a breach took place.
- We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
- We will not use or share your information other than as described in this notice unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.
- For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.
Changes to the Terms of this Notice
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website.
Contact Us
If you have any concerns or wish to contact us about any of the foregoing matters, please contact Heidi Zipperer, Privacy Officer for Valley View Health Center.
Patient Portal: The patient portal is the best way to contact us because it is fully encrypted. If you choose to communicate with us by email, please note open email contains risks, including, specifically, that unknown third parties, entities or other threat actors might intercept the email and use any confidential information for purposes other than intended. Additionally, we may not be able to respond to your message via email, in which case follow up communications may be by mail, the patient portal, or by phone based on the contact information in your chart.
Mailing Address: Valley View Health Center, Attn: Administration, 2690 NE Kresky Avenue, Chehalis, WA 98532
Phone: (360) 330-9565
Email: administration@vvhc.org
Last Update: July 27, 2026