Notice of Privacy Practices

1. CLIENT RIGHTS

The following are listed as the RIGHTS OF ALL CLIENTS under the New Jersey Community Mental Health Services Act as revised September, 1980, and the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

  • The right to privacy, dignity and respect.

  • The right to care that takes into consideration a client's personal value and belief system.

  • The right to agree to all procedures used and to refuse any treatment recommendations.

  • The right to participate in his/her treatment.

  • The right to be involved in the resolution of ethical issues that arise regarding treatment.

  • Client's twelve years of age and older are allowed to participate in treatment planning.

  • The right to the least restrictive conditions necessary to achieve the goals of treatment/service.

  • The right to treatment in the least restrictive setting.

  • The right to not be subjected to non-standard treatment, or procedures, or experimental procedures of research without written informed consent.

  • The right to be free from unnecessary or excessive medication.

  • The right to be given medication only with consent and when necessary.

  • The right to be free from corporal punishment.

  • The right to be treated as a competent individual.

  • The right to confidentiality and privacy of your treatment and any record of your treatment, to control who has access to your treatment record, and to know who has accessed your treatment record.

  • All clients who request services from this agency shall be subject to the same of (uniform) intake procedure and there will be no discrimination with respect to race, creed, national origin, language, handicap, religion, sexual orientation, martial status, age or sex.

  • If an interpreter is needed, the agency will attempt to provide one. In cases where an interpreter cannot be provided, a referral will be given to another appropriate agency whenever possible.

The above rights may not be denied under any circumstances. No client shall be deprived of any civil right solely by reason of his/her receiving therapeutic services, nor shall such services modify or vary any legal or civil right of any client.

2. CONFIDENTIALITY OF CLIENT RECORDS

All clients are entitled to confidentiality of their records, conversations and attendance at the Agency from any outside source. No information on any client may be given out verbally or in writing unless the expressed, specific timely, and written consent of the client (or guardian if client is under the age of 14; or client and guardian if the client is between the ages of 14-17 years) is given.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE POLICY OF CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY:

  • Upon receipt of written, specific and timely consent to release information signed by the client (or guardian if client is under the age of 14; or client and guardian if the client is between the ages of 14-17 years).

  • Upon direct observance that client is dangerous to himself/herself or others, and it is necessary to release confidential information or material in order to provide or arrange for an appropriate intervention (i.e. hospitalization, psychiatric evaluation, police involvement, etc), in order to prevent the physical harm of any individual.

  • Upon receipt of direct information from the client that they intend to break a law or have broken a law which has or may result in harm or injury to any person.

  • Upon reason to suspect an adult is suffering from abuse or neglect or is unable to care for self, a referral is made to Adult Protective Services.

  • Upon receipt of direct information from the client that they intend to harm any individual. In such cases, the intended victim must be notified of the threat in addition to other remediation activities taken as described above.

  • Upon reason to suspect child abuse/neglect, the Division of Youth and Family Services will be notified as a matter of New Jersey State Law.

  • For the specific purpose of obtaining authorization from the client's insurance company or 3rd party payor for treatment and/or payment.

Periodically your insurance company will review client charts to ensure that their prescribed standards are met and quality care is given. In such instances all identifying data is removed (e.g. names, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, etc). If your chart is chosen for review, you will be notified by your therapist.

Comprehensive Behavioral Healthcare is also accredited and licensed with the State of New Jersey, Division of Mental Health Services and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. On occasion these accrediting bodies also review charts at random. Reviewing charts is an important part of the licensing and accreditation process. These reviews ensure that Comprehensive Behavioral Healthcare is meeting the highest standards of care and practice in the healthcare industry. If you elect not to participate in any of the review processes, please notify your therapist in writing.

3. COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

For general complaints you are encouraged to discuss the matter with your therapist. In the event that the matter is unable to be resolved within your discussion, you may contact your therapist's supervisor. If further action is needed you may contact the Division Director.

If you feel that none of the above procedures are satisfactory and you believe that your "Client Rights" have been violated, you may contact Comprehensive Behavioral Healthcare's Ombudsperson. The Ombudsperson's role is to ensure that client rights are maintained. Any complaints will be explored within five (5) working days. Shortly thereafter a written report with a proposed resolution to the problem will be issued to you, the Division Director and the Associate Executive Director.

If the complaint is still not resolved to your satisfaction, the agency Ombudsperson will provide you with information regarding additional grievance procedures.


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