This Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy applies to the sites and platforms where it appears.
Protecting your information is important to us. This Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy describes how Fifth Element Healing LLC treats consumer health data on the websites and platforms where it is located (in this policy we call these our Platforms). Consumer health data is a subset of personal information that is linked or reasonably linkable to a consumer and that identifies the consumer’s past, present or future physical or mental health status. Your use of this Platform indicates that you agree to the collection, use and disclosure of your consumer health data as described in this Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy.
Background
In April 2023 the Washington State Legislature passed the Washington My Health My Data Act (“the Act”, “Act”). To view the language of the Act (Chapter 19.373 RCW) on the Washington State Legislature website, click here. Portions of the Act are referenced below.
As a small business located in Washington State which may collect, use and disclose consumer health data as defined by the Act, Fifth Element Healing LLC is legally bound to comply with the Act and post our Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy by June 30, 2024.
Consumer Health Data Definition and Categories.
Per the terms of section (8)(a) of the Act, Consumer health data is defined as “personal information that is linked or reasonably linkable to a consumer and that identifies the consumer’s past, present or future physical or mental health status.”
Categories of physical or mental health status include, but are not limited to:
- Individual health conditions, treatment, diseases or diagnosis;
- Social, psychological, behavioral and medical interventions;
- Health-related surgeries or procedures;
- Use or purchase of prescribed medication;
- Bodily functions, vital signs, symptoms, or measurements of other types of consumer health data;
- Diagnoses or diagnostic testing, treatment or medication;
- Gender-affirming care information;
- Reproductive or sexual-health information;
- Biometric data;
- Genetic data;
- Precise location information that could reasonably indicate a consumer’s attempt to acquire or receive health services or supplies;
- Data that identifies a consumer seeking healthcare services; and
- Any information processed to associate or identify a consumer with the above listed data that is derived or extrapolated from nonhealth information (such as proxy, derivative, inferred, or emergent data by any means, including algorithms or machine learning).
What Is Not Covered In This Policy.
Personal Information that is not Consumer Health Data
Consumer health data does not include personal information which does not identify past, present or future physical or mental health status. The following scenarios provide some examples of when the Act does not apply:
- Browsing our website, reading E-mails and purchasing Services of interest to the general population does not generate consumer health data.
- Choosing to use available features in our online portal which allow a consumer to measure their progress toward chosen goal(s) and which does not identify health status (such as tracking number of minutes per day spent meditating or exercising, tracking number of hours per week spent working on a project or hobby, tracking number of days in a row spent off of social media) does not generate consumer health data.
Personal Information Does Not Include Publicly Available Information
As defined in the Act, ““Publicly available information” means information that (a) is lawfully made available through federal, state, or municipal government records or widely distributed media, and (b) a regulated entity or a small business has a reasonable basis to believe a consumer has lawfully made available to the general public. “Publicly available information” does not include any biometric data collected about a consumer by a business without the consumer’s consent.””
Consumer health data is a subset of personal information. Based on the definition of “Publicly available information”, the Act does not apply to consumer health data made available by a consumer to the general public via social media platforms, YouTube and similar online media platforms, print media, and other publicly available platforms and forums, whether conducted online or in-person.
Sources and Categories of Consumer Health Data We May Collect.
Fifth Element Healing LLC may collect consumer health data from consumers who voluntarily choose to share such information through their interactions with us.
Consumer health data from any category or categories may be collected through various audio, visual, or written methods of communication and/or recordkeeping as part of fulfilling consumer requests and for providing our Services. For example:
- Biometric Data is collected if a consumer voluntarily participates in a recorded audio and/or visual interaction or presentation in which they verbally speak and/or visually appear on camera, whether the consumer does or does not share any additional categories of their consumer health data as part of their participation.
- Consumer health data from any category or categories may be collected if a consumer voluntarily chooses to share their consumer health data with us in writing, such as through their account in our online portal or via E-mail.
How We May Use Consumer Health Data.
Consumer health data may be used only to the extent necessary to which such consumer health data relates.
Consumer health data may be used by Fifth Element Healing LLC for purposes of fulfilling consumer requests and for providing our Services.
Consumer health data may also be used for safety and security purposes, such as to prevent, detect, protect against or respond to security incidents, identity theft, fraud, harassment, malicious or deceptive activities, or to preserve the integrity or security of systems, or to investigate, report or prosecute those responsible for any such action that is illegal under State or Federal law.
Fifth Element Healing LLC does not sell consumer health data. We do not sell any personal information.
When We May Share Consumer Health Data.
Consumer health data from any category or categories may be shared.
We may share consumer health data in order to comply with the law or for safety and security purposes. This could include responding to a court order or subpoena, and/or sharing information if a government agency or investigatory body requests. It may also include sharing information to prevent, detect, protect against or respond to security incidents, identity theft, fraud, harassment, malicious or deceptive activities, or to preserve the integrity or security of systems, or to investigate, report or prosecute those responsible for any such action that is illegal under State or Federal law.
Your Rights Regarding Consumer Health Data.
The Act grants certain rights to consumers, including the right to delete consumer health data, and to withdraw consent to collection and sharing of consumer health data, subject to exemptions stated in the Act.
In many cases, consumers who use our Services have the option to directly access and delete their consumer health data on their own. Examples of this include a consumer’s ability to manage their data within their account in our online portal, as well as through their chosen data management and privacy settings in the audio/visual communication platforms Fifth Element Healing LLC generally uses to provide our Services.
Exercising Your Rights Under The Act.
You may exercise your rights under the Act, including when deletion of consumer health data as described in the previous section is beyond your control, by making a request to Fifth Element Healing LLC via E-mail addressed to hello@fifthelementhealing.com and using the Subject Line “Washington My Health My Data Act Request”.
Please provide your first and last name, E-mail address, and if you have purchased Services with us, your billing address. We will take steps to verify your request by matching the information provided by you with the information we have in our records. If we are unable to verify and complete your request using commercially reasonable efforts, we may ask you for additional information reasonably necessary to authenticate you and your request. Please allow 45 days for a response.
If we deny your request, you may appeal that denial via E-mail addressed to hello@fifthelementhealing.com and using the Subject Line “Washington My Health My Data Act Request Appeal”. Please allow 45 days for a response.
If you are not satisfied following your appeal, you can file a complaint with the Washington State Attorney General at www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint.
Changes to this Policy
From time to time, we may change our Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy. To the extent that our Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy changes in a material way, the policy that was in place at the time that you submitted consumer health data to us will generally govern that data. We will notify you of any material changes to our Policy as required by law. We will also post an updated copy on our Platforms. Please check our Platforms periodically for updates.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns about our Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy, please E-mail us at hello@fifthelementhealing.com.
LAST UPDATED: APRIL 26, 2024