Counseling &
Psychological Services (CAPS) Policies and Practices to Protect the Privacy of
Your Health Information
Welcome to Florida
Tech’s Counseling & Psychological Services. In order for psychological services to be effective, issues of
confidentiality in regards to what is discussed in your meeting with a
psychologist or psychological intern are extremely important. This notice describes how psychological and
medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can obtain
access to this information. All of the
CAPS mental health staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality and
professional ethics. All non-mental
health staff have been provided training about protecting privacy and the
implications of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act known
as “HIPAA”. Please review this notice
carefully and feel free to ask any questions if you have concerns or confusion
regarding “HIPAA”.
Under the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), which is a federal law, we are
required to maintain the privacy of your protected health information and
provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect
to such protected health information.
This new law will result in Florida Tech students and spouses who are
receiving services at CAPS having a greater degree of privacy and protection as
it relates to their medical records.
How We May Use or
Disclose Your Health Information
The following describes the
purposes for which we are permitted or required by law to use or disclose your
health information without your consent or authorization. Any other uses or disclosures will be made
only with your written authorization and you may revoke such authorization in
writing at any time. Under the HIPAA
privacy rule, the disclosure of medical records information is limited to the minimum
necessary to accomplish the purpose of the disclosure.
Treatment:
CAPS may use or disclose your psychological
records to provide, coordinate or manage health care and treatment. An example
of this would be when we consult with another health care provider, such as the
Florida Tech Health Center, your family physician, or another psychologist or
psychiatrist regarding your case
Insurance : CAPS can communicate information with an
insurer regarding your healthcare.
Examples are when we disclose information contained in your medical
records to your health insurer to assist you in obtaining reimbursement for
your health care, medication or to determine eligibility or coverage. Another example would be to submit an
authorization form to MARKEL the company that provides insurance to Florida
Tech students in order to have them authorize a referral and payment to a psychiatrist
or another therapist.
Health Care
Operations: CAPS may use or disclose information related to
your clinical record for activities that relate to the performance and
operation of CAPS. Examples of health
care operations are quality assessment and improvement activities,
administrative services such as monthly reports, and case management and care
coordination. For example, staff at
CAPS may use information in your clinical record to assess the quality of care
that you receive and determine how to continually improve the quality and effectiveness
of the services we provide.
Research:
Research refers to utilizing information related to your clinical care
and psychological records for research purposes that has been approved by the
university research review board, is in compliance with state and federal law
and assures the privacy of your health information.
Although these situations are generally rare in
the day-to-day operations of CAPS we may use or disclose information related to
your care without your consent or authorization in the following circumstances:
Serious
Threat to Health or Safety: When you present a clear and immediate
probability of physical harm to yourself, to other individuals, or to society,
CAPS may communicate relevant information concerning this to the potential
victim, appropriate family members, Dean of Students, Director of Residence
Life or law enforcement or other appropriate authorities.
Child
Abuse:
If CAPS knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that a child is abused,
abandoned, or neglected by a parent, legal custodian, caregiver or other person
responsible for the child's welfare, the law requires that we report such
knowledge or suspicion to the Florida Department of Child and Family Services.
Adult and
Domestic Abuse: If
CAPS knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that a vulnerable adult
(disabled or elderly) has been or is being abused, neglected, or exploited, we
are required by law to immediately report such knowledge or suspicion to the
Central Abuse Hotline.
Health
Oversight: If
a complaint is filed against CAPS with the Florida Department of Health on
behalf of the Board of Psychology, the Department has the authority to subpoena
confidential mental health information from CAPS relevant to that complaint.
Judicial
or Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a court proceeding and a
request is made for information about your diagnosis or treatment and the
records thereof, such information is privileged under state law, and CAPS will
not release information without the written authorization of you or your legal
representative, or a subpoena of which you have been properly notified and you
have failed to inform me that you are opposing the subpoena or a court order.
The privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third party or
where the evaluation is court ordered. You will be informed in advance if this
is the case.
Right to
Request Restrictions – You have the right to
request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health
information. However, CAPS is not required to agree to the restriction that you
request if we conclude that it would hinder the appropriate care that we can
provide you. For example, if you are
receiving medication from a family physician or psychiatrist, and you request
that we restrict or not contact them, we may conclude that it would interfere
with appropriate and effective treatment.
If these issues arise your CAPS therapist will discuss these matters.
Right to
Inspect and Copy –
You have the right to inspect or obtain a copy (or both) of Protected Health
Information contained in the CAPS psychological records that are used to make
decisions about your treatment for as long as the PHI is maintained in the
record. CAPS may deny your request to
inspect and copy in certain circumstances as defined by law. For example if it is determined that your
psychological well-being is fragile or will be negatively affected, a denial or
delay in pursuing this request may occur. If you are denied access to your
health information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. On your
request, CAPS will discuss with you the details of the request process.
Right to
Amend
– You
have the right to request an amendment of Protected Health Information for as
long as the PHI is maintained in the record.
Your written request must include the reason or reasons that support
your request. CAPS has the option of
denying your request for an amendment if we determine that the record that is
the subject of the request was not created by CAPS, is not available for
inspection as specified by law, or is accurate and complete. On your request, CAPS will discuss with you
the details of the amendment process.
Right to
an Accounting
– You
generally have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures that occur
regarding your Protected Health information PHI. For example if we consult with the Health Center physician or
nurse practitioner in regards to your medication or related health issues we
will note that contact in your records.
At your request, CAPS will discuss with you the details of the
accounting process.
Right to a
Paper Copy – You have the right to
obtain a paper copy of this notice from CAPS; in fact the copy that you are
currently reviewing is your copy. CAPS
also has availability of additional copies by requesting one from the secretary
or downloading it from the CAPS website at www.fit.edu/caps/.
CAPS Responsibilities Related to HIPAA and
Psychological Records:
–
CAPS
is required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with a
notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI.
–
CAPS
reserves the right to change the privacy policies and practices described in
this notice as required by changes in state and federal law regarding PHI.
–
If
CAPS revises it policies and procedures, CAPS will provide you with a written
update of this at CAPS.
CAPS may use or disclose information from your
clinical record for purposes outside of treatment, insurance, and health care
operations when your appropriate authorization is obtained. An “authorization” is written permission above
and beyond the general consent that permits only specific disclosures. In those instances when we are asked for
information for purposes outside of treatment, insurance and health care
operations, CAPS will obtain an authorization from you before releasing this
information. For example if you request
that we discuss an academic issue that has been created or exacerbated by
psychological issues with your faculty or academic advisor we will have you
fill out an authorization or consent prior to CAPS releasing this information.
CAPS will also need to obtain an authorization before releasing your
psychotherapy notes. “Psychotherapy
notes” are notes we have made about our conversations during a private,
group, joint, or family counseling session, which are kept separate from the
rest of your medical record. These
notes are given an even greater degree of protection than Protected Health
Information.
You may revoke all such authorizations at any
time, provided each revocation is in writing. You may not revoke an
authorization to the extent that (1) we have relied or acted on that
authorization; or (2) if the authorization was obtained as a condition of
obtaining insurance coverage, and the law provides the insurer the right to
contest the claim under the policy.
You should be aware that
CAPS, pursuant to HIPAA, keeps Protected Health Information about you in two
sets of professional records. One set constitutes your Clinical Record. It
includes information about your reasons for seeking therapy, a description of
the ways in which your problem impacts on your life, your diagnosis, the goals
that we set for treatment, your progress towards those goals, your medical and
social history, your treatment history, any past treatment records that we
receive from other providers, reports of any professional consultations, your
attendance records, and any reports that have been sent to anyone. Except in unusual circumstances that
disclosure would physically endanger you and/or others, or makes reference to
another person (other than a health care provider) and we believe that access
is reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to such other person, you may
examine and/or receive a copy of your Clinical Record as long as they are
maintained, if you request it in writing.
Complaints: If you are
concerned that CAPS has violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a
decision CAPS made about access to your records, you must submit your complaint
in writing to Marsha Duncan, Vice-President of Student Affairs, Florida Tech,
150 West University Blvd., Melbourne, Florida
32901. You may also send a written complaint to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The person listed above can provide you with the appropriate address
upon request.