Notice of Privacy Practice
We value your privacy. This notice explains how medical and personal information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
About this Notice
This Notice of Privacy, required by the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, describes how the Area Agency on Aging may use and disclose your health information to carry out treatment, payment and health care operations and for other purposes permitted or required by law. Additionally, your rights to access and control that information are described.
How we use your information
- The AAA collects basic information such as your name, date of birth, contact information, and details about your service needs.
- This information is used to determine eligibility for programs offered by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) Area Agency on Aging (AAA).
The AAA has established policies to guard against unnecessary disclosure of your health information.
Who we share information with
- The AAA shares only the minimum necessary information with our contractors to provide services and for payment.
- All contractors must follow strict privacy and confidentiality rules under federal law. They have signed agreements to protect your information. To provide services, the AAA may use your health information to coordinate or manage your services, obtain payment for your services and conduct health care operations within the AAA and with any other individual outside the AAA involved in your care, such as other health care professionals. For example, certain service providers involved in your care need information about your medical condition(s) to provide appropriate services.
Special circumstances in which we may use or disclose your information without your permission:
- Public health and safety issues: We can share information if necessary to:
- Prevent disease.
- Help with product recalls.
- Report adverse reactions to medications.
- Report suspected of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
- Prevent or reduce a serious threat to you, the public, or another person.
- Required by law: When required by federal, state or local law, we must disclose or use your information to the extent required.
- Law enforcement purposes: We can share your information with law enforcement in certain situations, including:
- Reporting certain types of wounds or physical injuries pursuant to a court order, warrant, subpoena, or summons.
- Identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.
- Under limited circumstances, when you are the victim of a crime or if we believe your death was the result of criminal conduct.
- In an emergency to report a crime.
- Health oversight activities: For audits, investigations, inspections, licensing purposes, or other activities necessary for appropriate oversight, as authorized by law.
- Research: Under limited circumstances, we may use your health information for research purposes.
- Specialized government functions: In certain circumstances, we may disclose health information relating to military and veterans, foreign military personnel, national security and intelligence activities, protective services for the President and others, medical suitability determinations, and correctional institutions and other custodial situations.
- Organ and tissue donation: We may release information to organizations that handle procurement or transplantation, such as an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.
- Workers’ compensation: As authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers’ compensation or similar programs.
- Judicial and administrative proceedings: We may disclose your health information during any judicial or administrative proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal as expressly authorized by such order, or, in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process.
- Coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors: To identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death.
Your rights
- You have the right to know what information we collect and how it is used.
- You have the right to request a paper or electronic copy of the information we keep about you.
- You may ask us to correct your information if it is wrong.
- You can ask us to limit what information is shared, though this may affect our ability to provide services.
- You have the right to receive confidential communications.
- You can request a list (accounting) of who we have shared your information with and the times we’ve shared your information.
- You can request a paper or an electronic copy of this notice.
Your privacy is protected
- We do not sell or share your information for marketing or to a third party without your permission.
- We will not disclose psychotherapy notes about you without your permission.
- Your information is only used to provide services and to meet program requirements.
Changes to This Notice: We reserve the right to change this notice, and to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. The new notice will be available on request and posted on our website.
Complaints: If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our office or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More information can be found at: Health Privacy Link. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.
If you have questions about your privacy rights or wish to file a complaint with our office, please contact:
Denver Regional Council of Governments
Attention Privacy Officer
1001 17th Street, Suite 700
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303-455-1000
Fax: 303-480-6790
Email: drcog@drcog.org
Effective date November 14, 2025