Certificate of Confidentiality Effective June 11, 2017 the Certificate of Confidentiality (Certificate) issued for the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP) is subject to the requirements of section 301(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241(d)). Moreover, as of October 1, 2017 dbGaP is required to adhere to the NIH Policy for Issuing Certificates of Confidentiality (NOT-OD-17-109). Therefore, Approved Users of dbGaP, whether or not funded by the NIH, who access a copy of information protected by a Certificate held by dbGaP, are also subject to the requirements of the Certificate of Confidentiality and subsection 301(d) of the Public Health Service Act. Under Section 301(d) of the Public Health Service Act and the NIH Policy for Issuing Certificates of Confidentiality, recipients of a Certificate of Confidentiality shall not: • Disclose or provide, in any Federal, State, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceeding, the name of such individual or any such information, document, or biospecimen that contains identifiable, sensitive information about the individual and that was created or compiled for purposes of the research, unless such disclosure or use is made with the consent of the individual whom the information, document, or biospecimen pertains; or • Disclose or provide to any other person not connected with the research the name of such an individual or any information, document, or biospecimen that contains identifiable, sensitive information about such an individual and that was created or compiled for purposes of the research. Disclosure is permitted only when: • Required by Federal, State, or local laws (e.g., as required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or state laws requiring the reporting of communicable diseases to State and local health departments), excluding instances of disclosure in any Federal, State, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceeding; • Necessary for the medical treatment of the individual to whom the information, document, or biospecimen pertains and made with the consent of such individual; • Made with the consent of the individual to whom the information, document, or biospecimen pertains; or • Made for the purposes of other scientific research that is in compliance with applicable Federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects in research.
LIMITS ON CONFIDENTIALITY The law protects the privacy of all communications between a patient and a psychotherapist. In most situations, I can only release information about your treatment to others if you sign a written authorization form that meets certain legal requirements imposed by HIPAA. There are other situations that require only that you provide written, advance consent. Your signature on this Agreement provides consent for those activities, as follows: • I may occasionally find it helpful to consult other health and mental health professionals about a case. During a consultation, I make every effort to avoid revealing the identity of my patient. The other professionals are also legally bound to keep the information confidential. If you don’t object, I will not tell you about these consultations unless I feel that it is important to our work together. I will note all consultations in your Clinical Record (which is called “PHI” in my Notice of Psychotherapist’s Policies and Practices to Protect the Privacy of Your Health Information). • You should be aware that I practice with other mental health professionals and that I employ administrative staff. In most cases, I need to share protected information with these individuals for both clinical and administrative purposes, such as scheduling, billing, and quality assurance. All of the mental health professionals are bound by the same rules of confidentiality. All staff members have been given training about protecting your privacy and have agreed not to release any information outside of the practice without my permission. • I also have a contract with a billing service. As required by HIPAA, I have a formal business associate contract with this business, in which it promises to maintain the confidentiality of this data except as specifically allowed in the contract or otherwise required by law. If you wish, I can provide you the name of this organization and/or a blank copy of this contract. I also will ask for your permission before having the billing service contact you. • Disclosures required by health insurers or to collect overdue fees are discussed elsewhere in this Agreement. • If a patient threatens to harm himself/herself, I may be obligated to seek hospitalization for him/her, or to contact family members or others who can help provide protection. There are some situations where I am permitted or required to disclose information without either your consent or Authorization: • If you are involved in a court proceeding and a request is made for information concerning my professional services, such information is protected by the psychotherapist-patient privilege law. I cannot provide any information without your (or your legal representative’s) written authorization, or a court order, or a subpoena of which you have been officially notified and failed to inform me that you are opposing the subpoena. If you are involved in or contemplating litigation, you should consult with your attorney to determine whether a court would be likely to order me to disclose information. • If a government agency is requesting the information for health oversight activities, I may be required to provide it for them. • If a patient files a complaint or lawsuit against me, I may disclose relevant information regarding that patient in order to defend myself. • If a patient files a worker’s compensation claim, information that is directly related to that claim must, upon appropriate request, be provided to the Workers’ Compensation Commission. There are some situations in which I am legally obligated to take actions, which I believe are necessary to attempt to protect others from harm and I may have to reveal some information about a patient’s treatment. These situations are unusual in my practice. § If I have reason to know or suspect that a child has been abused or neglected, or has been a victim of sexual abuse by another child, the law requires that I file a report with the Department for Children, Youth and Families. Once such a report is filed, I may be required to provide additional information. § If I believe that a patient presents a risk to a person or his/her family, I may be required to take protective actions including warning the potential victim(s), contacting the police, or seeking hospitalization of the patient. If such a situation arises, I will make every effort to fully discuss it with you before taking any action and I will limit my disclosure to what is necessary. While this written summary of exceptions to confidentiality should prove helpful in informing you about potential problems, it is important that we discuss any questions or concerns that you may have now or in the future. The laws governing confidentiality can be quite complex, and I am not an attorney. In situations where specific advice is required, formal legal advice may be needed.
Public Information and Confidentiality Information related to the performance of this Contract may be subject to the Public Information Act and will be withheld from public disclosure or released to the public only in accordance therewith. Performing Agency shall make any information required under the Public Information Act available to the System Agency in portable document file (“.pdf”) format or any other format agreed between the Parties. To the extent permitted by law, Performing Agency and the System Agency agree to keep all information confidential, in whatever form produced, prepared, observed, or received by Performing Agency or the System Agency. The provisions of this section remain in full force and effect following termination or cessation of the services performed under this Contract.
Limits of Confidentiality The law protects the privacy of all communications between a patient and a psychologist. In most situations, I can only release information about your treatment to others if you sign a consent form that meets certain legal requirements imposed by HIPAA and/or Maryland law. However, in the following situations, no authorization is required: I may occasionally find it helpful to consult other health and mental health professionals about a case. During a consultation, I make every effort to avoid revealing the identity of my patient. The other professionals are also legally bound to keep the information confidential. If you don’t object, I will not tell you about these consultations unless I feel that it is important to our work together. I will note all consultations in your Clinical Record (which is called “PHI” in my Notice of Psychologist’s Policies and Practices to Protect the Privacy of Your Health Information). Disclosures required by health insurers or to collect overdue fees are discussed elsewhere in this Agreement. If you are involved in a court proceeding and a request is made for information concerning your diagnosis and treatment, such information is protected by the psychologist-patient privilege law. I cannot provide any information without your written authorization, or a court order. If you are involved in or contemplating litigation, you should consult with your attorney to determine whether a court would be likely to order me to disclose information. If a government agency is requesting the information for health oversight activities, I may be required to provide it for them. If a patient files a complaint or lawsuit against me, I may disclose relevant information regarding that patient in order to defend myself. There are some situations in which I am legally obligated to take actions, which I believe are necessary to attempt to protect others from harm and I may have to reveal some information about a patient’s treatment. These situations are unusual in my practice: If I have reason to believe that a child, adolescent, or vulnerable adult has been subjected to abuse or neglect, or that a vulnerable adult has been subjected to self-neglect, or exploitation, the law requires that I file a report with the appropriate government agency, usually the local office of the Department of Social Services. Once such a report is filed, I may be required to provide additional information. If I know that a patient has a propensity for violence and the patient indicates that he/she has the intention to inflict imminent physical injury upon a specified victim(s), I may be required to take protective actions. These actions may include establishing and undertaking a treatment plan that is calculated to eliminate the possibility that the patient will carry out the threat, seeking hospitalization of the patient and/or informing the potential victim or the police about the threat. If I believe that there is an imminent risk that a patient will inflict serious physical harm or death on him/herself, or that immediate disclosure is required to provide for the patient’s emergency health care needs, I may be required to take appropriate protective actions, including initiating hospitalizations and/or notifying family members or others who can protect the patient. If such a situation arises, I will make every effort to fully discuss it with you before taking any action and I will limit my disclosure to what is necessary. While this written summary of exceptions to confidentiality should prove helpful in informing you about potential problems, it is important that we discuss any questions or concerns that you may have, now or in the future. The laws governing confidentiality can be quite complex, and I am not an attorney. In situations where specific advice is required, formal legal advice may be needed. Professional Records The laws and standards of the profession require that I keep Protected Health Information (PHI) about each client in their clinical record. In some circumstances, I may keep some information in two sets of professional records. One set is your clinical record. It includes information about your reasons for seeking therapy and how these and related issues impact on your life, your diagnosis, goals for treatment, progress towards the goals, your medical treatment and social history, past treatment records I receive from other providers, reports of professional consultations, billing records, and any reports to insurance carriers or others. You may choose, in writing, to examine and/or receive a copy of your clinical record. Because professional records can be misinterpreted it would be important to first review them together or with another mental health professional. In very unusual circumstances, such as a situation in which in my professional judgment disclosing information would endanger someone’s life, then clinical records would not be released. In those situations, the person would have a right to a summary and to have their record sent to another mental health provider. A copying fee of $.60 per page will be charged. There may be other associated costs for review of records. The other set I keep in some instances is 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 contents of Psychotherapy Notes vary from client to client, they can include the contents of our conservations, my analysis of those conversations, and how they impact on your therapy. They also 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 your psychotherapy notes unless I determine that knowledge of the health care information would be injurious to your health. Patient Rights HIPAA provides you with expanded rights with regard to clinical records and disclosures of protected health information. These include requesting that I amend your record; requesting restrictions on what information from your clinical record is disclosed; requesting an accounting of disclosures; determining where protected information disclosures are sent; having any complaints you make about my policies recorded in your records; and the right to a paper copy of this agreement, my policies and procedures, and the attached HIPAA notice form. Minors & Parents Parents of clients 16 years of age who are not emancipated may be allowed by law to examine their child’s records. While privacy in psychotherapy is very important, particularly with teenager, parental involvement is also essential to successful treatment. Therefore, it is my policy when treating 16- to 18-year-olds to request that they agree to my sharing occasional general information about the progress of treatment with his/her parents. Unless I feel discussing disclosure prior to parental notification is not realistic, such as when the child is in danger or is a danger to someone else, I will discuss with the child, what I think is in their best interest to discuss with the parents and preferably both the child and I will talk with the parents together.
Staff Confidentiality Any confidential personal information about staff of the Employer, which is directly learned by the Employer in the normal course of business, will be treated as strictly confidential and the Employer will take all reasonable precautions to safeguard it.
Treatment of Proprietary and Confidential Information A. Both parties agree that it may be necessary to provide each other during the term of this Agreement with certain confidential information, including trade secret information, including but not limited to, technical and business plans, technical information, proposals, specifications, drawings, procedures, customer account data and like information (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Information”). Both parties agree that all Information shall either be in writing or other tangible format and clearly marked with a confidential, private or proprietary legend, or, when the Information is communicated orally, it shall also be communicated that the Information is confidential, private or proprietary. The Information will be returned to the owner within a reasonable time. Both parties agree that the Information shall not be copied or reproduced in any form. Both parties agree to receive such Information and not disclose such Information. Both parties agree to protect the Information received from distribution, disclosure or dissemination to anyone except employees of the parties with a need to know such Information and which employees agree to be bound by the terms of this Section. Both parties will use the same standard of care to protect Information received as they would use to protect their own confidential and proprietary Information.
SECTION 7 – CONFIDENTIALITY 7.1 Employee shall well and faithfully serve Manitoba and use his best efforts to promote the interests thereof and shall not directly or indirectly disclose the private affairs of Manitoba or any secret of Manitoba, and shall not directly or indirectly use for his own purposes any confidential information which Employee may acquire with respect to Manitoba’s affairs. The restriction on the use of disclosure of information shall be in effect during the terms of the Agreement and at all times thereafter.
INFORMATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY 20.1 Each party recognises that under this Agreement it may receive Confidential Information belonging to the other.
Employee Information Required to be Reported by Certain Consultant Contractors and Service Contractors Chapter 10 of the Laws of 2006 amended the Civil Service Law and the State Finance Law, relative to maintaining certain information concerning Contract Employees working under State Agency service and consulting Contracts. State Agency consultant Contracts are defined as “Contracts entered into by a state Agency for analysis, evaluation, research, training, data processing, computer programming, engineering, environmental health and mental health services, accounting, auditing, paralegal, legal, or similar services” (“covered consultant Contract” or “covered consultant services”). The amendments also require that certain Contract Employee information be provided to the state Agency awarding such Contracts, OSC, DOB and CS. The effective date of these amendments was June 19, 2006. The requirements will apply to the covered Contracts awarded on and after such date. To meet these requirements, the Contractor agrees to complete:
Confidentiality of Contractor Information The Contractor acknowledges and agrees that this Contract and any and all Contractor information obtained by the State in connection with this Contract are subject to the State of Vermont Access to Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. § 315 et seq. The State will not disclose information for which a reasonable claim of exemption can be made pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 317(c), including, but not limited to, trade secrets, proprietary information or financial information, including any formulae, plan, pattern, process, tool, mechanism, compound, procedure, production data, or compilation of information which is not patented, which is known only to the Contractor, and which gives the Contractor an opportunity to obtain business advantage over competitors who do not know it or use it. The State shall immediately notify Contractor of any request made under the Access to Public Records Act, or any request or demand by any court, governmental agency or other person asserting a demand or request for Contractor information. Contractor may, in its discretion, seek an appropriate protective order, or otherwise defend any right it may have to maintain the confidentiality of such information under applicable State law within three business days of the State’s receipt of any such request. Contractor agrees that it will not make any claim against the State if the State makes available to the public any information in accordance with the Access to Public Records Act or in response to a binding order from a court or governmental body or agency compelling its production. Contractor shall indemnify the State for any costs or expenses incurred by the State, including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees awarded in accordance with 1 V.S.A. § 320, in connection with any action brought in connection with Contractor’s attempts to prevent or unreasonably delay public disclosure of Contractor’s information if a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the State improperly withheld such information and that the improper withholding was based on Contractor’s attempts to prevent public disclosure of Contractor’s information. The State agrees that (a) it will use the Contractor information only as may be necessary in the course of performing duties, receiving services or exercising rights under this Contract; (b) it will provide at a minimum the same care to avoid disclosure or unauthorized use of Contractor information as it provides to protect its own similar confidential and proprietary information; (c) except as required by the Access to Records Act, it will not disclose such information orally or in writing to any third party unless that third party is subject to a written confidentiality agreement that contains restrictions and safeguards at least as restrictive as those contained in this Contract; (d) it will take all reasonable precautions to protect the Contractor’s information; and (e) it will not otherwise appropriate such information to its own use or to the use of any other person or entity. Contractor may affix an appropriate legend to Contractor information that is provided under this Contract to reflect the Contractor’s determination that any such information is a trade secret, proprietary information or financial information at time of delivery or disclosure.
