This notice is effective October 13, 2026. It updates our prior notice effective September 1, 2024.
VirtuHear | 103 S High Street, Suite #1, West Chester, PA 19382 | 484-401-9585 | https://virtuhear.com
Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.
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.
VirtuHear is a hearing care practice. Our licensed hearing instrument specialists provide hearing evaluations, hearing aid fittings, follow-up care, and related services. We are required by federal law to protect the privacy of your health information. This notice explains how we may use and share that information, the rights you have, and the steps we take to protect it.
If you have questions about this notice, please contact our Privacy Officer:
John DeSimone, Owner and Privacy Officer
VirtuHear, 103 S High Street, Suite #1, West Chester, PA 19382
Phone: 484-401-9585
Email: john@virtuhear.com
Summary
Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Get a copy of your paper or electronic health record
- Correct your paper or electronic health record
- Request confidential communication
- Ask us to limit the information we share
- Get a list of those with whom we have 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 as we:
- Tell family and friends about your hearing care
- Provide disaster relief
- Market our services or sell your information
- Raise funds
Our Uses and Disclosures
We may use and share your information as we:
- Treat you
- Run our practice
- 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
To the extent that we have your substance use disorder patient records, subject to 42 CFR Part 2, we will not share that information for investigations or legal proceedings against you without (1) your written consent or (2) a court order and a subpoena.
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. To make a request, contact our Privacy Officer using the information at the top of this notice.
Get an electronic or paper copy of your health record
- You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your health record and other health information we have about you, such as hearing test results, hearing aid fitting and programming records, and billing records. Ask us how to do this.
- 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 record
- You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
- We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.
Request confidential communications
- 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.
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 if you need emergency treatment.
- If you pay for a service or health care item, such as a hearing aid, out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information with your health insurer for the purpose of payment or our operations. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
Get a list of those with whom we have shared information
- You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we have shared your health information for 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 will provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
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. This notice is also posted in our office and on our website at https://virtuhear.com.
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 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 our Privacy Officer, John DeSimone, at 484-401-9585, by email at john@virtuhear.com, or by mail at VirtuHear, 103 S High Street, Suite #1, West Chester, PA 19382.
- 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 (for example, a family member who comes with you to a fitting appointment)
- 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 these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
- Marketing purposes
- Sale of your information
- Most sharing of psychotherapy notes (VirtuHear does not provide mental health services and does not create psychotherapy notes)
In the case of fundraising:
- VirtuHear does not currently contact patients for fundraising. If that changes, we will update this notice, and you may 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: We share your hearing test results with your primary care physician or an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) physician who is evaluating your hearing. We may also share the information needed to order, program, repair, or replace your hearing aids with the hearing aid manufacturer.
Some patients may receive remote hearing aid adjustments through our partner Hear.com. When that happens, the information needed for the adjustment is shared with Hear.com, which is required to protect it under HIPAA.
Run our practice
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, review the quality of our care, and contact you by phone for appointment reminders and follow-up care.
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 hearing evaluation or hearing aids.
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, including hearing aid or medical device recalls
- Reporting adverse reactions to medications or problems with medical devices
- 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 information for health research, as permitted by law.
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 are 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, such as audits, inspections, and licensure reviews
- 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.
Business associates
Some services are provided for us by outside companies, such as billing services, electronic health record and scheduling software, and appointment reminder services. We may share your information with these business associates so they can do the work we ask them to do. We require them, by written agreement, to protect your information.
Pennsylvania law
Pennsylvania law provides extra protection for certain types of health information, such as HIV-related information, drug and alcohol treatment records, and mental health treatment records. When Pennsylvania law is more protective of your privacy than federal law, we will follow Pennsylvania law. For example, we will not share HIV-related information about you without your written consent unless the law allows or requires us to.
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.
- 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.
- We never sell your health information, and we do not use it for marketing without your written permission.
For more information, see: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/notice-privacy-practices/index.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 at https://virtuhear.com.
Effective Date
This notice is effective October 13, 2026. It updates our prior notice effective September 1, 2024.