Policy on Privacy Practices

This notice describes how information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.  Please review it carefully.  If you have any questions about the information contained in this Notice, please contact: Dr. Jennie Cassidy, Director, Counseling Services, Coastal Carolina University, 204 University Blvd., Conway, SC  29528-6054, (843) 349-2305.

• Your counseling records may include mental health information.  Mental health information is subject to special protections under South Carolina law.  The Counseling Service will generally only release such records or information with your written authorization or with an appropriate court order.  You may revoke all such authorizations at any time, to the extent that we have taken any action based on this consent.
• We may use and disclose your information without your consent to improve and conduct the operations of the Service.  For example, we may use your information within the Service in order to evaluate the quality of services that you have received, or to evaluate the performance of the professionals who provided services to you.  We may also use a sign-in sheet upon entrance in the Service and we may call you by name in the open areas of the Service.

There are some occasions in which we may use or disclose your treatment information without your consent:

• Child Abuse: If you give us information which leads us to suspect child abuse, neglect, or death due to maltreatment, we must report such information to the county Department of Social Services.  If asked by the Director of Social Services to turn over information from your records relevant to a child protective services investigation, we must do so.
• Adult and Domestic Abuse: If information you give us gives us reasonable cause to believe that a disabled adult is in need of protective services, we must report this to the Director of Social Services. 
• Judicial or Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a court proceeding, and a request is made for information about the services that we have provided you and/or the records thereof, such information is privileged under state law, and we must not release this information without your written authorization, or a court order.  This 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.
• Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may disclose your confidential information to protect you or others from a serious threat of harm by you.

You have the following rights regarding your mental health care information:

• Right to Request Restrictions –You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information about you.  However, we are not required to agree to a restriction you request.
• Right to Receive Confidential Communications by Alternative Means and at Alternative Locations –You have the right to request and receive confidential communications of information by alternative means and at alternative locations.
• Right to Inspect and Copy – You have the right to inspect or obtain a copy (or both) of  information in our treatment records used to make decisions about you for as long as the  information is maintained in the record.  We may deny your access to this information under certain circumstances, but in some cases, you may have this decision reviewed. On your request, a professional will discuss with you the details of the request and denial process.
• Right to Amend – You have the right to request an amendment of information for as long as that information is maintained in the record. We may deny your request.  On your request, a professional staff member 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 of your information for which you have neither provided consent nor authorization (as described in Section III of this Notice).  On your request, a professional 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 the notice from us upon request, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically.

The Counseling Services has the following responsibilities for your information:

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy of information and to provide you with a notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your information.
• We reserve the right to change the privacy policies and practices described in this notice. Unless we notify you of such changes, however, we are required to abide by the terms currently in effect.
• If we revise our policies and procedures, we will provide you with a written copy of our revised policies upon your next visit.

If you have questions about this notice, disagree with a decision we make about access to your records, believe that your privacy rights have been violated and wish to file a complaint with our office or have other concerns about your privacy rights, you may contact Dr. Jennie Cassidy, Director, Counseling Services, Coastal Carolina University, 204 University Blvd., Conway, SC  29528-6054, (843) 349-2305.

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.  You have specific rights under the Privacy Rule.  Counseling Services will not retaliate against you for exercising your right to file a complaint.

Licensing

All clinicians in Counseling Services are either licensed as counseling psychologists (Cassidy, White) or counselors (Crosland, Glass, Donevant-Haines), or are currently working towards licensure (Pierce, McLean).  If you feel you have a complaint about a clinician that warrants action by a licensing board, you may file a complaint in writing to one of the following boards:

South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology     Phone: (803) 896-4664

South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists and Psycho-Educational Specialists                        Phone: (803) 896-4658

110 Centerview Drive
Post Office Box 11329
Columbia, SC  29211-1329
Phone: (803) 896-4664
www.llr.state.sc.us 

Questions regarding this policy can be directed to the counselor to which you are assigned or Jennie Cassidy, Director of Counseling Services at (843) 349-2305.