The security and confidentiality of all records is protected by both Federal and State law. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) outlines regulations related to the release of information about you.

What is protected:

• any information about a person’s health, health care or payment of health care--this includes mental health and behavioral health issues
• information that identifies a person
• information created or received by a covered health care plan or provider
• all medical records and other individually identifiable health information used or disclosed by a covered entity in any form, whether electronically, on paper, or orally

Protected health information may not be disclosed by the clinic or a therapist without the informed and voluntary written consent or authorization of the client.

The clinic is required to obtain a client’s consent for use or disclosure of client information for purposes of:

• health care treatment
• payment
• operations

Any conversations or communications you have with your therapist are private and confidential except under the following circumstances:

• disclosures required by law
• disclosure about victims of abuse, neglect or domestic violence
• emergency circumstances
• identification of the body of a deceased person or the cause of death
• permitted disclosures for public health activities (ie: reporting diseases, collecting vital statistics)
• research, generally limited to when a waiver of authorization is independently approved by a privacy board or Institutional Review Board
• oversight of the health care system
• judicial and administrative proceedings
• limited law enforcement activities
• disclosure to avert a serious threat to health or safety; activities related to national defense and security

Please be aware that psychotherapy notes are held to a higher standard of protection because they are not part of a medical record and are never intended to be shared with anyone else.