Last updated: Feb. 7, 2024
Sharp HealthCare and Sharp Health Plan are committed to maintaining the privacy of those who use our mobile app. This mobile app privacy policy is designed to assist you in understanding how we collect and use the personal information you provide to us
and to assist you in making informed decisions when using the Sharp Health Plan mobile app (the “App”).
We want you to feel safe and comfortable when you use the App and are dedicated to developing and upholding high standards for protecting your privacy and securing your personal information. You should read and familiarize yourself with this policy and
with our Terms and Conditions of Use Agreement. When you use our websites, utilize our online services or mobile applications, or participate in our email or text communications (collectively, the “Digital Tools”), you agree to abide by
this agreement.
This privacy policy
This privacy policy describes how the App accesses, collects, uses, stores, and transmits user information and data. Sharp Health Plan may modify this privacy policy at any time, effective upon its posting. Your use of our App constitutes your acceptance
of this privacy policy and any updates. Your use of our App is subject to the Sharp Health Plan’s Terms and conditions of use.
Other information you will need
The App incorporates the Epic Systems Corporation’s (“Epic”) MyChart mobile application libraries. Epic allows patients to access portions of their electronic health plan records, including summary of benefits and claims explanation
of benefits. You may review Epic's mobile application privacy policy for patients on their website.
App use of data
When you use the App, you may provide us with two types of information:
- Personal information you knowingly choose to disclose
- App usage information
Personal information is any information you have provided to us that uniquely identifies you, such as name, Social Security Number, health plan ID number, medical record number, date of birth, telephone number, home address, or email address.
App usage information is gathered automatically by the App and shared with Sharp Health Plan and its vendors and partners for the purposes of making products and services available to you and administering our business activities.
The personal and App usage data we gather includes information such as the following:
- Names, email addresses, and telephone numbers for email subscriptions, online surveys, customer feedback and contact forms, and other communications with Sharp Health Plan.
- Personal information (such as, but not limited to, name, telephone number, email address, billing and shipping address, date of birth and date of health care service).
- Credit card information to process payments or donations (although we do not store credit card numbers).
- Demographic information (such as gender and ethnicity).
- Dates and times of use
- IP address (numbers that identify your internet service provider or network)
- Information about your mobile data network
- Name of the internet browser you used to visit these websites
- Pages visited and files downloaded through the App
- Referring website (the website from which you downloaded the App)
- Search terms
- Type of device you used to run the App.
We receive and store any information you enter into the App, all App usage information, and your use of the App is your consent for us to do so. It is completely optional for you to use the App, and if you do not consent for us to continue gathering the
information described in this policy, you must stop using the App.
For example, we receive information from you and/or your device when you:
- Sign up for the App
- Send a secure message to Sharp Health Plan, the Sharp Health Plan billing office or App customer support
- Access your data on our servers
- Connect and communicate with customer service representatives, licensed health care professionals, or for the purpose of diagnosis and/or treatment
- Request access or grant access to your account for another user (also called "proxy" access)
In the instances above, we may ask for your name, email address, billing address, home address and credit card information, as well as other similar personal information that is needed to register, subscribe, or request several of the services we offer.
Sharp Health Plan will never ask you for your password in any communications (including letters, phone calls, SMS, text or email messages).
Occasionally, we may also use your information to notify you about important changes to the App, as well as about new services, and new information we think you might find valuable. Users who do not wish to receive communications (whether email, paper
mail, SMS text messaging or other means) or who believe they are receiving those communications by mistake can contact us and request removal from the communications:
- By following unsubscribe directions stated in the footer of email communications
- For Sharp Health Plan, by contacting Customer Care at 1-858-499-8300 or
toll-free at 1-800-359-2002
We may also provide information you request using the App. It is completely optional for you to request this information. For example, at your request, we may provide you with access to a copy of your health plan ID card, billing account balance, or eligibility
status. You may also request to communicate through secure messaging with our enrollment, billing, or customer support services.
Use of cookies, beacons, and other tracking technology
We receive and store certain types of information whenever you use the App, through the use of "cookies." Cookies are pieces of information stored on a user's computer which allow us to recognize repeat users, track usage patterns and better serve you
when you return to our site. Cookies are not used on non-secure portions of Sharp Health Plan’s website. We use cookie information to analyze how frequently the App is being used or viewed, for automatic user recognition, and to improve your
overall App experience with us. The App will not function correctly without the use of these cookies.
Sharp HealthCare or Sharp Health Plan may use other third-party software besides cookies for App maintenance, improvement, and the provision of targeted advertising. Like cookies, this software also tracks your use of the App. Some of the technology can
be understood as supporting “behavioral” advertising on third-party sites (also sometimes called "retargeting" or "tracking"), through which information collected while you use the App is used to display ads for Sharp Health Plan or Sharp
HealthCare products or services when you visit third-party websites. The information collected that makes this possible may uniquely identify your machine or browser settings, but does not personally identify you. The information may be used, in part,
to assist in showing you Sharp HealthCare or Sharp Health Plan-related information in the future or to measure the effectiveness of advertising. If you wish to opt out of this practice, you may do so at https://youradchoices.com/ or at https://optout.networkadvertising.org/.
Location services
We may offer, and you may choose to utilize, services in the App to aid navigation or to find a doctor nearby a location. The App does not record or track your location data and will never share any location information with third parties without your
authorization to allow location services. These location data settings and features can be controlled by your phone’s location settings for the Sharp Health Plan App.
If you choose to correspond further with us through email, through the secure messaging feature, we reserve the right to retain the content of your messages and communications (including video content), together with your email address(es) and our responses.
Affiliates, partners, and other third parties who may see information collected through the App
We may share aggregated information that does not directly identify you with agents, contractors, or affiliates of ours for the purpose of providing services to us. We may also share this information with our partners. Some of this information may
be shared through the third-party software discussed above. Sharp Health Plan will not share your personal health information except as permitted by law.
The App may link to other websites and services from other parties than Sharp Health Plan. Sharp Health Plan is not responsible for the privacy or the content of these sites. Please review the privacy statement for each site you visit. Sharp Health
Plan encourages you to be aware when you leave our websites and to read the privacy policies of every website that collects your personal information.
Some of our affiliates or subsidiaries may use an outside credit card processing
company to bill users for services. When you sign up for these services, we will share names, or other contact information that is necessary for the third party to provide these services.
We reserve the right to release personal and account information when we believe it is appropriate to do so in accordance with the law, other agreements, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Sharp Health Plan, our users, or others.
How we respond to Do Not Track signals
Some internet browsers have incorporated "Do Not Track" (“DNT”) features that, when turned on, signal to the web sites you visit that you do not wish to be tracked. Because there are not yet any common standards for DNT (or even a
clear definition of to what it should apply) we do not currently respond to DNT signals.
Our commitment to security
The security of your personal information is important to Sharp HealthCare and Sharp Health Plan. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data security and ensure the correct use of information, Sharp Health Plan has adopted stringent security
standards. These standards include physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect and secure the information that we collect from you. While we follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted
to us, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We, therefore, cannot guarantee absolute security.
For Android users – Google Play disclosures for apps related to Covid-19
If you seek preventive or diagnostic care for Covid-19 with Sharp Health Plan, the App may display information related to Covid-19 such as test results. We are required to disclose how and why we request certain permissions as part of our integration
with Epic MyChart. Each of these permissions is voluntary if the user wishes to access Epic MyChart features including downloading medical records or uploading images to your provider. Because these permissions are requested as part of the
Epic MyChart experience that has been integrated into our app, we have included the purpose for each permission below as specified in Epic's mobile application privacy policy.
- Files: When you choose to view documents from your healthcare organization (such as letters or images) using our mobile app, to make the files viewable for you, we temporarily store copies on your device in app-private storage. The temporary
copies are deleted when you close your session on our mobile apps.
- Camera, images and videos: When you choose to include a photo or video in a message you send to your healthcare organization using our mobile app, you may select an existing photo or video from your device or take a new photo or video using
the camera app on your device. If you use the camera app on your device to take a new photo or video, it will be saved to your camera app. Any photo or video saved to your camera app remains available in your camera app until you choose
to delete it.
Changes to our mobile app privacy policy
We may at our discretion and at any time update this mobile app privacy policy to reflect changes to our information practices, effective at the time of posting. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our
privacy practices.
If you have any questions about this mobile app privacy policy, please contact us at 1-858-499-8300 or toll-free at 1-800-359-2002, or email us.