NHDIC’s mission is, and always will be, “Clients First”. We understand, acknowledge and respect any individual’s right to privacy and the concerns one may have in regard to privacy and security. We recognise the importance of protecting the privacy of information provided by our patients, as well as general users of our website.
IMPORTANT NOTE!
NHDIC Notice of Privacy Practices is a separate document that governs how medical information about you may be used and disclosed by NHDIC.
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL TO GET PROMPT MEDICAL ATTENTION. DO NOT RELY ON ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE IN REGARD TO YOUR IMMEDIATE, URGENT MEDICAL NEEDS. THIS E-MAIL IS NOT DESIGNED TO FACILITATE MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. NHDIC SHALL NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DELAY OR FAILURE TO RESPOND TO YOUR REQUEST IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE THIS E-MAIL IN THE EVENT OF A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
A visitor can access and browse our entire site at any time without providing any personal information. We do not collect information that would personally identify you unless you choose to provide it.
In addition, NHDIC does not share any personally identifiable information of any individual with any third party unrelated to NHDIC, except in situations where we must provide information for legal purposes or investigations, or if so directed by the patient through a proper authorization.
FORMS
Our website contains forms through which users may request information or supply feedback to us. In some cases, telephone numbers, email addresses or return addresses are required so that we can supply requested information to you, and in other cases, correct names and addresses are required to process credit card payments.
After you fill out a form, we may contact you with follow-up information (unless you have checked an "opt-out" box on the form). We may provide some information supplied on our web forms to affiliated companies outside NHDIC for promotional reasons (other than where we may be required to by law, or as necessary to process credit card information). We do not save this personal information for any other reason.
SURVEYS
Occasionally, we may survey visitors to our site. The information from these surveys is used in aggregate form to help us understand the needs of our visitors so that we can improve our site. We generally do not ask for information in surveys that would personally identify you. If we do request contact information for follow-up, you may decline to provide it. If survey respondents provide personal information (such as an email address) in a survey, it is shared only with those people who need to see it to respond to the question or request.
"Phishing" is a scam designed to steal your personal information. If you receive an email that looks like it is from NHDIC asking you for your personal information, do not respond. We will never request your password, username, credit card information or other personal information through your email.
USERNAME AND PASSWORD
In the event you access any Service requiring a Username and Password, you are solely responsible for keeping such Username and Password strictly confidential.
NON-PERSONAL INFORMATION
NHDIC collects non-personal information such as website usage, traffic patterns, site performance and related statistics based on our tracking of your visits to the website.
IP ADDRESSES
The Web server automatically collects the IP (which stands for Internet Protocol) address of the computers that access our site. An IP address is a number that is assigned to your computer when you access the Internet. It is not truly personally identifiable information because many different individuals can access the Internet via the same computer. We use this information in aggregate form to understand how our site is being used and how we can better serve visitors.
Please note that although such information is not personally identifiable, we can determine from an IP address a visitor's Internet Service Provider and the geographic location of his or her point of connectivity.
FIRST PARTY COOKIES
We collect information about visitors to our site using "first party cookies”, which are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computer's hard drive through your web browser. Cookies are never associated with specific personal identities. First party cookies are distinct from third party cookies that they are created and directly served by the company hosting the website.
We use two types of “cookies” on this site:
- We use persistent cookies to recognize a repeat visitor, enabling us the opportunity to offer the visitor a set of services or information requested in a previous visit.
We use session cookies to track a visitor's path through our site during a visit, to help us understand how people use our site.
You can delete our cookies at any time. The "help" section, located on the toolbar of most browsers, will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie or how to disable cookies altogether. Since cookies allow you to take full advantage of some of our website's best features, we recommend that you leave them turned on.
SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION
Please note that our forms are encrypted to protect your privacy. Once the information is sent to our site, it is kept in secure databases where it is not available to users on the Internet. While we sometimes ask for credit card numbers or certain service transactions, and either pass them on to a credit card processing service or process them manually, we do not store credit card numbers online.
NHDIC periodically reviews and modifies, where appropriate, its security policies and procedures. We use reasonable care to protect your personally identifiable and confidential information provided by you to our site. NHDIC has in place a security program that seeks to mitigate this risk substantially.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
MATERIALS, SERVICES AND OTHER INFORMATION ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” BY NHDIC FOR EDUCATIONAL AND/OR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. NHDIC MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, TITLE OR NONINFRINGEMENT.
PLEASE NOTE THAT, BY ITS VERY NATURE, A WEBSITE CANNOT BE ABSOLUTELY PROTECTED AGAINST INTENTIONAL OR MALICIOUS INTRUSION ATTEMPTS. FURTHERMORE, NHDIC DOES NOT CONTROL THE DEVICES OR COMPUTERS OR THE INTERNET OVER WHICH YOU MAY CHOOSE TO SEND CONFIDENTIAL PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CANNOT, THEREFORE, PREVENT SUCH INTERCEPTIONS OF COMPROMISES TO YOUR INFORMATION WHILE IN TRANSIT TO NHDIC.
THEREFORE, NHDIC HEREBY MAKES NO GUARANTEE AS TO SECURITY, INTEGRITY OR CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANY INFORMATION TRANSMITTED TO OR FROM THIS WEBSITE OR STORED WITHIN THIS WEBSITE.
BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CARE TO SAFEGUARD YOUR INFORMATION WHILE IN TRANSIT, NHDIC CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ABSOLUTE SECURITY OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS OR TRANSMISSIONS SINCE ANY TRANSMISSION MADE OVER THE INTERNET BY ANY ORGANIZATION OR ANY INDIVIDUAL RUNS THE RISK OF INTERCEPTION.
IN ADDITION, WE HEREBY MAKE NO GUARANTEE AS TO SECURITY, INTEGRITY OR CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANY INFORMATION TRANSMITTED TO OR FROM THIS WEBSITE OR STORED WITHIN THIS WEBSITE.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU ASSUME THE SOLE RISK OF TRANSMITTING YOUR INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO THE USE OF THIS WEBSITE, AND FOR ANY DATA CORRUPTION, INTENTIONAL INTERCEPTIONS, INTRUSIONS OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO INFORMATION, OR ANY DELAYS, INTERRUPTIONS TO OR FAILURES PREVENTING THE USE OF THIS WEBSITE.
IN NO EVENT SHALL NHDIC BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR MONETARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING FEES, AND PENALTIES IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF MATERIALS POSTED ON THIS SITE OR CONNECTIVITY TO OR FROM THIS SITE TO ANY OTHER SITE.
NHDIC MAY CHANGE THIS PRIVACY POLICY WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU.
Other services provided by NHDIC on this Website may require you to agree to additional terms.
BY USING THIS WEBSITE, YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS.
If you have any questions about our privacy policy or our use of information gathered through our website, please contact our Webmaster at enquiries@nhdic.ng
Security Statement
NHDIC values your privacy and security. Your data is protected through Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 258-bit encryption, ensuring your confidential information is protected using both server authentication and data encryption technology.
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Our Notice of Privacy Practices describes the privacy practices of NHDIC and its affiliated facilities.
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.
At NHDIC, we believe your health information is personal. We keep records of the care and services that you receive at our facilities. We are committed to keeping your health information private, and we are required by law to respect your confidentiality.
This Notice describes the privacy practices of NHDIC and its affiliated facilities (NUDC, NLCC and NKDC). This Notice applies to all of the health information that identifies you and the care you receive at NHDIC facilities. This information may consist of paper, digital or electronic records but could also include photographs, videos and other electronic transmissions or recordings that are created during your care and treatment. We are legally required to keep your health information private, to notify you of our legal responsibilities and privacy practices that relate to your health information, and to notify you if there is a breach of your health information. We are also legally required to give you this Notice and to follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect.
NHDIC HEALTH SYSTEM AND AFFILIATED FACILITIES
All of our clinics, employed physicians, doctor offices, entities, facilities, other services, and affiliated facilities in Nigeria follow the terms of this Notice. These clinics and locations are listed on our website: www.nhdic.com.ng
The doctors and other caregivers at NHDIC who are not employed by NHDIC exchange information about you as a patient with NHDIC employees. In connection with the health care that these healthcare practitioners provide to you outside of NHDIC, they may also give you their own privacy notices that describe their office practices.
All of these hospitals, doctors, entities, , facilities, and services may share your health information with each other for reasons of treatment, payment, and healthcare operations as described below.
HOW NHDIC MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
When you become a patient of NHDIC, we will use your health information within NHDIC and disclose your health information outside NHDIC for the reasons described in this Notice. The following categories describe some of the ways that we will use and disclose your health information.
Treatment
We use your health information to provide you with health care services. We may disclose your health information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical or nursing students, or other persons at NHDIC who need the information to take care of you. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to ask another doctor if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the leg’s healing process. This may involve talking to doctors and others not employed by us. We also may disclose your health information to people outside NHDIC who may be involved in your health care, such as treating doctors, home care providers, pharmacies, drug or medical device experts, and family members.
Payment
We may use and disclose your health information so that the health care you receive can be billed and paid for by you, your insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may give information about surgery you had here to your Healthcare Maintenance Organisation (HMO) or other health plan so it will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery. We may also tell your HMO or other health plan about a treatment you are going to receive so we can get prior payment approval or learn if your plan will pay for the treatment.
Health Care Operations
We may use your health information and disclose it outside NHDIC for our health care operations. These uses and disclosures help us operate NHDIC to maintain and improve patient care. For example, we may use your health information to review the care you received and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We also may combine health information about many patients to identify new services to offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain therapies are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other persons at NHDIC for learning and quality improvement purposes. We may remove information that identifies you so people outside NHDIC can study your health data without knowing who you are.
Contacting You
We may use and disclose health information to reach you about appointments and other matters. We may contact you by mail, telephone or email. For example, we may leave voice messages at the telephone number you provide us with, and we may respond to your email address.
Health Information Exchanges
We may participate in certain health information exchanges whereby we may disclose your health information, as permitted by law, to other health care providers or entities for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes.
Organised Health Care Arrangements
We may participate in joint arrangements with other health care providers or health care entities whereby we may use or disclose your health information, as permitted by law, to participate in joint activities involving treatment, review of health care decisions, educational, quality assessment or improvement activities, or payment activities.
Health-Related Services
We may use and disclose health information about you to send you mailings about health-related products and services available at NHDIC.
Philanthropic Support
We may use or disclose certain health information about you to contact you in an effort to raise funds to support NHDIC and its operations. You have a right to choose not to receive these communications and we will tell you how to cancel them.
Patient Information Directories
Our facilities include limited information about you in their patient directories, such as your name and possibly your location in the clinic and your general condition (for example: good, fair, serious, critical, or undetermined). We usually give this information to people who ask for you by name following a vetting process to ascertain their identities as well as authorisation to access the information. We also may include your religious affiliation in the directories and give this limited information to clergy from the community. We do not release this information if you are being treated on a psychiatric or substance abuse unit. Releasing directory information about you enables your family and others (such as friends, community-based clergy, and delivery persons) to visit you in the clinic and generally know how you are doing. If you prefer that this personal information, be kept confidential, you may make that request to the clinic admitting department and we will not release any of this information.
Medical Research
We perform medical research here. Our clinical researchers may look at your health records as part of your current care, or to prepare or perform research. They may share your health information with other NHDIC researchers. All patient research conducted at NHDIC goes through a special process required by law that reviews protections for patients involved in research, including privacy. We will not use your health information or disclose it outside NHDIC for research reasons without either getting your prior written approval or determining that your privacy is protected
Legal Matters
We will disclose health information about you outside NHDIC when required to do so by federal, state, or local law, or by the court process. We may disclose health information about you for public health reasons, like reporting births, deaths, child abuse or neglect, reactions to medications or problems with medical products. We may release health information to help control the spread of disease or to notify a person whose health or safety may be threatened. We may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as for audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure.
AUTHORIZATIONS FOR OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES
As described above, we will use your health information and disclose it outside NHDIC for treatment, payment, health care operations, and when required or permitted by law. We will not use or disclose your health information for other reasons without your written authorization. For example, most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, uses and disclosures of health information for certain marketing purposes, and disclosures that constitute a sale of health information, require your written authorization. These kinds of uses and disclosures of your health information will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke the authorization in writing at any time, but we cannot take back any uses or disclosures of your health information already made with your authorisation.
The laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria require that we obtain your consent for certain disclosures of health information about the following: the performance or results of an HIV test or diagnoses of AIDS or an AIDS-related condition, drug or alcohol treatment that you have received as part of a drug or alcohol treatment program, or mental health services that you have received.
Nigeria law also requires consent for:
- Certain disclosures to family members
- Certain disclosures of health information for patient information directory purposes
- Certain disclosures of health information for payment purposes
- Certain disclosures of health information for health care operations purposes
- Certain disclosures or use of health information for solicitation or marketing purposes
- Certain disclosures of health information for research purposes
- Certain disclosures of health information relating to sexually transmitted diseases
- Certain disclosures of health information that include genetic testing or DNA analysis results
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION
Right to Amend. If you feel that health information, we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to amend your medical records. Your request for an amendment must be in writing, signed, and dated. It must specify the records you wish to amend, identify the NHDIC facility that maintains those records, and give the reason for your request. You must address your request to the General Manager at the specific facility. NHDIC will respond to you within 60 days. We may require additional information or proof of the new information you are providing. We may deny your request; if we do, we will tell you why and explain your options.
Right to Inspect and Obtain Copy
You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your completed health records unless your doctor believes that disclosure of that information to you could harm you. You may not see or get a copy of information gathered for a legal proceeding or certain research records while the research is ongoing. Your request to inspect or obtain a copy of the records must be submitted in writing, signed and dated. You must address your request to the General Manager at the specific facility. (Requests for billing records should be sent to the Finance Department.) We may charge a fee for processing your request. If NHDIC denies your request to inspect or obtain a copy of the records, you may appeal the denial in writing to the Chief Executive Officer, NSIA Healthcare Development and investment Company (NHDI).
Right to Request Restrictions
You have the right to ask us to restrict the uses or disclosures we make of your health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations, but we do not have to agree. You also may ask us to limit the health information that we use or disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, such as a family member or friend. Again, we do not have to agree. A request for a restriction must be signed and dated, and you must identify the NHDIC facility that maintains the information. The request should also describe the information you want restricted, say whether you want to limit the use or the disclosure of the information or both, and tell us who should not receive the restricted information. You must address your request to the General Manager at the Centre where the information you want restricted is kept. We will tell you if we agree with your request or not. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you with emergency treatment or is necessitated by law. However, if you pay out of pocket and in full for a health care item or service, and you ask us to restrict the disclosures we make to a health plan of your health information relating solely to that item or service, we will agree to the extent that the disclosure to the health plan is for the purpose of carrying out payment or health care operations and the disclosure is not required by law.
Right to Request Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health. Your request for confidential communications must be in writing, signed, and dated. It must identify the NHDIC facility from which the confidential communication is required. You need not tell us the reason for your request, and we will not ask. You must address your request to the General Manager at the Centre. We will accommodate all reasonable requests.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the NHDIC Central Laboratory Manager. To file a complaint with NHDIC, you must submit your complaint in writing to the complaints@nhdic.ng. You will not be penalised for filing a complaint.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
NHDIC may change this Notice at any time. Any change in the Notice could apply to medical information we already have about you, as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current Notice on our website, www.nhdic.com.ng The effective date of the Notice is on the first page in the top right corner.
NHDIC HEALTH SYSTEM AND AFFILIATED FACILITIES
NHDIC Facilities
NHDIC Facilities and other locations where health care services are rendered by NHDIC employees, including – NUDC, NLCC and NKDC
