Sentara Terms and Conditions of Use
Sentara Healthcare is pleased to offer your own personal Sentara account as a customer (patient) of Sentara and its affiliates. It is an online service that provides you with convenient access to your medical record. It also offers a method of online communication with your physician and practice staff for such activities as prescription renewals, direct appointment scheduling and online messaging. We think that it is important for you to know how we manage information via the Internet. This Terms & Conditions statement outlines our practices and sensitivity to your right to privacy. We reserve the right and discretion to revoke access to this service at any time.Electronic Communication
We will make a best effort to provide a timely response to electronic inquiries. In some cases, the staff that needs to respond to an electronic inquiry or other communication may not be immediately available. Please allow at least two (2) business days for a response. Emergency situations requiring immediate attention should not be submitted electronically. Furthermore, with respect to any electronic communications sent by the patient, we are only able to respond to such communications based on the information provided by the patient. If additional information is needed, we may return your message for clarity.Website Links
Sentara may offer links to related medical websites not managed by Sentara. These website link(s) are for a patient's informational purposes only. Sentara does not endorse and has not verified the accuracy of the information in/on these websites, and the patient should not rely on any of the information found on the websites for purposes of treatment or diagnosis.Minor Eligibility
An individual must be age 18 or older to create a Sentara account. For adolescents between the ages of 14-17 a Sentara account may be created once the parent/legal guardian has provided written consent. This consent by the parent/legal guardian allows Sentara Healthcare to regard the adolescent as an adult. The consent agrees to allow the adolescent to have his/her own Sentara account. For adolescents they must be age 14 with the appropriate consent to create an account.Thus, when a minor patient reaches age 14, restrictions will be placed on Sentara account access until he/she reaches age 18 or until consent for the adolescent to have a Sentara account has been signed and the adolescent activates his/her account. Adolescents may grant parents/legal guardians Proxy access to their Sentara account by following the terms outlined in the "Proxy Access" section of this Terms and Conditions statement.Proxy Access
Individuals age 18 or older may request proxy access to another individual's Sentara account by completing the Proxy Access portion of the Consent Form and submitting it to Sentara. Individuals age 14-17 may grant Proxy Access to parents/legal guardians by completing the appropriate Proxy Access portion of the Proxy Form and submitting it to Sentara. All medical information that is made available in your Sentara account will also be made available to your Proxy. Such access will only be granted to parties with parental rights or legal guardianship over the Sentara account holder and only to the extent that the party requesting proxy access can demonstrate the legal right to account holder's medical information. A Sentara account will be activated for both the proxy and the account holder. If the proxy's legal relationship with the account holder changes, the account holder must inform us immediately by calling the practice for directions, or sending written notice to the practice. Sentara reserves the right to revoke proxy access at any time for any reason.Email Privacy
Patients who are users of Sentara should be aware that they will be notified by email for certain features, including activation. This means that any person with access to a patient's email will be able to see this notification. This could include the patient's spouse, employer or anyone else that can access a patient's email account. Although no private medical information will be sent, the notification that new medical information is available by accessing your Sentara account may be information that a patient would not want others to know. Thus, patients should take this into account when providing an email address.Please know that if you send us an email communication, it may be shared with Sentara staff in order to provide an appropriate response. A patient's confidential medical information related to Sentara features will be accessible only to appropriate Sentara staff.Security and Confidentiality
We afford the same degree of confidentiality to medical information stored on Sentara as is given to medical information stored by Sentara in any other medium. Sentara is committed to protecting the confidentiality of your medical information. We limit Sentara employees' access and ability to enter or view information based upon their role in your care. Firewalls, passwords, encryption, and audit trails are further used to safeguard your information. We have taken steps to make all information received from our online visitors as secure as possible against unauthorized access and use.
For other than general information viewing, Sentara must be accessed with a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) compatible browser or terminal (Netscape or Internet Explorer versions 5.0 or greater). Our SSL web server uses authentication and offers the highest level of encryption technology commercially available (128-bit RC4).
You can tell when you are secure by looking at the location (URL) field. If the URL begins with https:// (instead of http://), the document comes from a secure server. This means your data cannot be read or deciphered by unauthorized individuals. You can tell whether you are truly connected to Sentara by viewing the digital certificate. This certificate verifies the connection between the Sentara server's public key and the server's identification.
User names and passwords provide two layers of authentication and are stored in an encrypted database that is isolated from the Internet. As a Sentara MyChart user, your role in maintaining the security of your medical information is:
- Changing your password on a regular basis, and
- Keeping your login ID and password confidential.
Deactivation
Your Sentara account will be deactivated due to specific terms and conditions for use of the applications at the discretion of the Practice and Sentara. The following is a list of reasons which will result in deactivation. The list is not inclusive and each circumstance will be evaluated individually.
- No longer a patient for that practice/physician.
- Automatic system deactivation will occur for a parent to view a child's record when the child reaches the age of 14.
- Automatic system deactivation will occur after a number of failed login attempts to access the secure portion of the Sentara account (refer to eCare policies on failed login attempts).
- Inappropriate use of messaging or scheduling (ex: excessive, unnecessary, inappropriate content).
- Abuse of proxy access.
- Pending legal issues with patient or direct family.
- Poor response to training.
- Inability to use features without constant assistance.
Sentara Account for Teens Terms & Conditions for Use Age Restrictions
- Right now, you must be at least 14 years old to sign-up for a Sentara account.
- If you would like to give someone Proxy Access to your account contact your primary care provider.
Messages
- You should NEVER use your Sentara account for emergencies. If you have an emergency call your doctor’s office or 911.
- All of the messages you send to your doctor are private. However, some messages may be sent to other staff members to help us get back to you more quickly.
- We will try our best to respond to all messages within 1-2 business days.
- Please do not use any bad language in your messages. Your account may be closed if you do.
- All messages sent through your Sentara account will be added to your medical record.
Telehealth Services
Sentara offers medical treatment options using some Telehealth. Telehealth visits will require additional terms and conditions and fall under the same Security and Privacy as any other healthcare visit. Read the Sentara Healthcare Privacy Policy.
I understand Telemedicine involves the use of electronic communications to enable health care providers at a different location to share individual patient medical information for the purpose of providing patient care. Providers may include primary care practitioners, specialists, and/or subspecialists, including, but not limited to psychiatrists or psychologists. The information may be used for diagnosis, therapy, follow-up and/or education and may include any of the following:
- Patient medical records
- Medical images
- Live two-way audio and video
- Output data from medical devices and sound and video files
I understand that electronic systems used during the Telemedicine session will incorporate network and software security protocols to protect the confidentiality of patient identification and imaging data and will include measures to safeguard the data and to ensure its integrity against intentional or unintentional corruption.
1. Expected Benefits: Improved access to medical care by enabling a patient to remain in his/her location while the provider obtains medically necessary information to provide services.
2. Risks: As with any medical procedure, there are potential risks associated with the use of telemedicine. These risks include, but may not be limited to:
- In rare cases, information transmitted may not be sufficient (e.g. poor resolution of images) to allow for appropriate medical decision making by the physician or consultant(s);
- Delays in medical evaluation and treatment could occur due to deficiencies or failures of the equipment;
- In very rare instances, security protocols could fail, causing a breach of privacy of personal medical information and the patient will hold the hospital harmless for information lost due to technical failure;
- In rare cases, a lack of access to complete medical records may result in adverse drug interactions or allergic reactions or other judgement errors
3. Confidentiality: I understand that the laws that protect privacy and the confidentiality of medical information also apply to telemedicine, and that no information obtained in the use of telemedicine which identifies me will be disclosed to researchers or other entities without my consent as outlined by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
4. Patient Rights: I understand that I have the right to withhold or withdraw my consent to the use of telemedicine in the course of my care at any time, without affecting my right to future care or treatment. I understand and consent to participate in the SMG Sentara Telehealth Services. I have read and agree to be liable for the requirements of consent for treatment.
5. Documentation: I understand that I have the right to inspect all information obtained and recorded in the course of a telemedicine interaction, and may receive copies of this information for a reasonable fee.
6. Observers: For the purpose of advancing medical education, observers may be present, who may not be directly responsible for my care, or who may be present as a part of my care.
7. Alternatives: I understand that alternative methods of medical care may be available to me, and that I may choose one or more of these at any time.
8. Financial: I have read and agree to be liable for the obligations in the Sentara Consent to Treat & Financial Agreement, which is incorporated herein by reference, and I agree to pay SMG for services rendered by SMG Sentara Telehealth Services.
9. The practice of medicine is not an exact science. I further understand that no gurantee of assurance has been made to me as to the result that may be obtained from any evaluation, consultation, or treatment as provided by the use of telemedicine.
Security and Privacy
- We use many security features to make sure that your information is private.
- We do not share your medical information with anyone without your permission.
- You should not share your username and password with anyone. If you do, that person can see your records.
- You must log in to your Sentara account to see any messages from your health center. No medical information will be sent to your email address.
- We will never request anything from you or about your children through an email message
Disclaimer
- Your Sentara account does not contain your complete medical record. It is only summary of your record. If you would like to see your complete record please ask someone at your health center.
- If you have questions or problems with your Sentara account we encourage you to contact us one of the following ways: submit an Assistance Request or call us at 1-800-736-8272.
- We try our best to make sure that your Sentara account is always working properly but there may be times when the system is shut down. We are not to blame for any problems that may occur from being unable to see your medical information.
- These terms and conditions may be changed. When they are changed you will be able to see the changes when you log in.
Terms and Conditions for SMS Text Message Notifications
Sentara MyChart Account Text Notifications
Sentara and Sentara MyChart account users who indicate that they would like to receive "text" notifications will opt-in to receive notifications to the phone number provided, which is the subscriber's phone.
Sentara Marketing Text Notifications
By signing up for the Sentara Healthcare text messaging service or texting a campaign opt-in keyword to the short code 26320, and by confirming your opt-in via text message reply, you expressly consent to receiving text messages from Sentara Healthcare at the telephone number you provide. Text messages can only be sent to mobile phones. You may opt-out of these communications at any time. To receive Sentara Healthcare text messages, you must be a resident of the United States and at least 18 years of age. By opting into Sentara Healthcare text messaging services, you agree only to send keyword responses, as prompted by Sentara Healthcare, to this short code. You acknowledge that non-keyword responses will not be monitored.
Supported Carriers
Sentara account users will receive a notification directly to their phone via SMS message, more commonly referred to as a text message from the following carriers:
AT&T, Affinity Cellular, AirVoice Wireless, Armed Force Mobile, Black Wireless, Boom Mobile, Boost Mobile, campusSIMs, CellNUVO, Charge Mobile, Chit Chat Mobile, Consumer Cellular, Consumer CellularEcoMobile, Credo, Cricket Wireless, EasyGO Wireless, Eco Mobile, EcoMobile, Expo Mobile, good2GO Mobile, GoSmart, H2O Wireless, Hayai Mobile, Infinium Wireless, Jaguar Mobile, Jolt Mobile, Kajeet, KidsConnect, Liberty Wireless, MetroPCS, Mint Sim, Net10 Wireless, NetZero, Page Plus Cellular, Pix Wireless, Project Fi, Puppy Wireless, Puretalk USA, Ready Mobile, Red Pocket Mobile, Republic Wireless, ROK Mobile, Selectel Wireless, Simple Mobile, Speed Talk Mobile, Sprint, Straight Talk, Telcel America, Tello US, Tempo Telecom, TextNow, The People's Operator USA, Ting, T-Mobile, Total WirelessTracFone, TracFone, Twigby, Ultra Mobile, Univision Mobile, US Mobile, Verizon, Virgin Mobile USA, Walmart Family Mobile, Zing PCS, Zip SIM.
Please Note: Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Cost
There are no premium charges for the Sentara account and Sentara MyChart text notifications; however, message and data rates may apply.
Message Frequency
If you opt-in to receive notifications from Sentara, you will receive one (1) message per account update. Text notifications will direct you to your Sentara account for detail. Sentara also provides notifications to the patient email account. You will receive messages based on the preferences you select.
How to Opt-Out of Our Service
To opt-out of the text message notification, you may go to the "Preferences" section within your Sentara or Sentara MyChart account and modify your settings.
To opt-out of Sentara MyChart notifications on your cell phone, text STOP at any time to 50771.
To opt-out of Sentara marketing notifications on your cell phone, text STOP at any time to 26320.
An unsubscribe message will be sent to your mobile number confirming the cancellation, but no more messages will be sent from this program after that one.
Support/Help
For support or information about our Sentara or Sentara MyChart account service, text HELP at any time to 50771.
For support or information about our Sentara marketing notifications, text HELP at any time to 26320.
You can also submit an Assistance Request or call 1-800-SENTARA directly.
Privacy Policy regarding Text Notifications
Sentara Healthcare considers patient privacy a high priority. The following is provided to address any concerns you may have.
- Sentara Healthcare will never, under any circumstances, sell or distribute your cell phone number to third parties or Sentara Healthcare clients for whom you have not approved.
- Sentara Healthcare will never directly market to you any services for which you have not opted in, either by cell phone, text message, email, or Sentara account preferences.
- Sentara Healthcare will never distribute any personal information about you, including your phone number, name, billing information or any other piece of identifying information.
If you have any questions, please submit an Assistance Request.
Other Sentara Account Features
Sentara will provide access to additional features like online payment of a hospital bill. Please be sure to check for terms and conditions of use or privacy information for each individual feature when you access the feature.
Sentara locations may have beacon technology enabled to provide you with a better experience in our facilities including but not limited to offering location maps. You may opt-out of this service by disabling or not allowing location tracking for the Sentara MyChart app (individual device settings may vary).