Educational Records Educational Records are official records, files and data directly related to a student and maintained by the school or local education agency, including but not limited to, records encompassing all the material kept in the student’s cumulative folder, such as general identifying data, records of attendance and of academic work completed, records of achievement, and results of evaluative tests, health data, disciplinary status, test protocols and individualized education programs. For purposes of this DPA, Educational Records are referred to as Student Data. NIST: Draft National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) Special Publication Digital Authentication Guideline.
PROFESSIONAL RECORDS You should be aware that, according to the rules of HIPAA, I keep 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 I receive from other providers, reports of any professional consultations, your billing records, and any reports that have been sent to anyone, including reports to your insurance carrier. In addition, I also keep a set of Psychotherapy Notes. These Notes are for my own use and are designed to assist me in providing you with the best treatment, While the content of Psychotherapy Notes vary from client to client, they can include notes regarding the contents of our conversations, my analysis of those conversations, and how they impact on your therapy. They also can contain particularly sensitive information that you may reveal to me that is not required to be included in your Clinical Record. These Psychotherapy Notes are kept separate from your Clinical Record. While insurance companies can request and receive a copy of your Clinical Record, they cannot receive a copy of your Psychotherapy Notes without your signed, written Authorization. Insurance companies cannot require your Authorization as a condition of coverage nor penalize you in any way for your refusal. You may examine and/or receive a copy of both sets of records, if you request it in writing. Because these are professional records, they can be misinterpreted and/or upsetting to untrained readers. For this reason, I recommend that you initially review them in my presence, or have them forwarded to another mental health professional so you can discuss the contents. In most circumstances, I am allowed to charge a fee for copying records. The exceptions to this policy are contained in the Privacy Notice form. PATIENT RIGHTS HIPAA provides you with several new or expanded rights with regard to your Clinical Record and disclosures of protected health information. These rights include requesting that I amend your record; requesting restrictions on what information from your Clinical Record is disclosed to others; requesting an accounting of most disclosures of Protected Health Information that you have neither consented to nor authorized; determining the location to which protected information disclosures are sent; having any complaints you make about my policies and procedures recorded in your records; and the right to a paper copy of this Agreement, the Privacy Notice form, and my privacy policies and procedures. I am happy to discuss any of these rights and/or issues with you. MINORS & PARENTS Patients under 18 years of age who are not emancipated and their parents should be aware that the law may allow parents to examine their child’s treatment records. Because privacy in psychotherapy is often crucial to successful progress, particularly with teenagers, it is sometimes my policy to request an agreement from parents that they consent to give up their access to their child’s records. If they agree, during treatment, I will typically provide them only with general information about the progress of the child’s treatment, and his/her attendance at scheduled sessions. I also may provide parents with a summary of their child’s treatment when it is complete. Most other communication will require the child’s Authorization, unless I feel that the child is in danger or is a danger to someone else, in which case, I will notify the parents of my concern. Before giving parents information, I will discuss the matter with the child, if possible, and do my best to handle any objections he/she may have.
