Privacy Policy

South Carolina Addiction Treatment and all its associates are dedicated to giving you the highest quality of mental health and addiction treatment services. Your privacy is as important to us and we are committed to protecting your privacy by all applicable laws. This notice (“Notice of Privacy Practices”) outlines your rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and our duties under Federal Law to preserve your information. Protected Health Information (PHI) refers to information about you, including demographics and other factors, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present, or future health condition(s); the provision of healthcare services; or the past, present, or future payment provided to you.

Our Uses and Disclosures

Uses and disclosures of your PHI may be permitted, required, or authorized. The following categories describe various ways that we use and disclose PHI.

​Staff and Personnel Handling Treatment. Information may be shared among individuals with a legitimate need for it in the course of their responsibilities related to the diagnosis, treatment, or referral for alcohol or drug abuse, whether it be within the treatment center or between the treatment center and South Carolina Addiction Treatment. This includes various professionals like doctors, nurses, and clinicians, utilizing your PHI to deliver treatment, manage billing statements, track account charges and credits, verify insurance eligibility, prepare insurance claims, and fulfill functions related to our healthcare business activities, such as accreditation and licensing.

Secretary of Health and Human Services. We are required to disclose applicable PHI to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services when the Secretary is investigating or determining our compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rules.

​Business Associates. We may disclose your PHI to Business Associates that are contracted by us to perform healthcare services on our behalf which may involve receipt, use or disclose of your PHI. Every Business Associate is required to: (i) Safeguard the confidentiality of your PHI; (ii) Utilize and reveal the information solely for the purposes for which the Business Associate was contracted; (iii) Adhere to the regulations outlined in 42 CFR Part 2; and (iv) if required, oppose any attempts to gain access to patient records in legal proceedings unless permitted by law.

​Crimes on Premises. We may disclose to law enforcement officers any information that is directly related to the act of a crime on the premises or against our personnel or to a threat to commit such a crime.

​Reports of Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect. We may disclose information required to report under state law incidents of suspected child abuse and neglect to the appropriate state or local authorities. However, we may not disclose the original patient records, including for civil or criminal proceedings which may arise out of the report of suspected child abuse and neglect, without consent.

​Court Order. We may disclose information required by a court order, provided certain regulatory requirements are met.

Emergency Situations. We may disclose information to medical personnel for the purpose of treating you in an emergency.

​Research. We may use and disclose your information for research, only if certain requirements are met, such as approval by an Institutional Review Board.

Audit and Evaluation Activities. We may disclose your information to persons conducting certain audit and evaluation activities, provided the person agrees to certain restrictions on disclosure of information.

Reporting of Death. We may disclose your information related to the cause of death to a public health authority that is authorized to receive the information.

AUTHORIZATION TO USE OR DISCLOSE PHI

Apart from the details mentioned above, your PHI will not be utilized or disclosed without your explicit written authorization. We will refrain from using or disclosing psychotherapy notes and using your PHI for marketing purposes unless you provide specific authorization for us to do so. In cases where we refer you to another treatment facility and share PHI as per your written direction, you can rest assured that your information will never be bought or sold. If you or your representative grant authorization for us to use or disclose your PHI, you have the right to revoke that authorization in writing at any time, with oral revocations honored upon identity verification until a written revocation is secured. It’s important to note that your revocation will not affect any uses or disclosures permitted by your authorization during its effective period.

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record

You may ask for an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
Ask us to correct your medical record

You may ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.
Request confidential communications

You may ask that we contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

You may ask us not to use or share certain health information for any treatment, payments, or our business operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect the quality of your care.

If you pay for a service or healthcare item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.

We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

Get a copy of this privacy notice

​You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.

Choose someone to act on your behalf

If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us using the information on page 1.
You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you have the right to make choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Let us know what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
• Share information in a disaster relief situation
• Include your information in a hospital directory

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example, if you are unconscious, we may share your information if we believe it is in your best interest or the best interest of your health. We may also share your information when needed to prevent a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

In the case of fundraising:

We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

How else may we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information, please visit: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the Terms of this Notice

South Carolina Addiction Treatment reserves the right to change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all the information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website.