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.
STANDARDS OF DISCIPLINE 32.01 Where written departmental standards of discipline are developed or amended, the Employer agrees to supply sufficient information on the standards of discipline to each employee and to the Institute.
Appeal of Discipline Permanent unit members who are deprived of salary or other loss in compensation or property rights as a result of the imposed discipline may appeal the disciplinary decision under Article XXI, Section 21.3.5, Arbitration, of the Grievance Procedure. Nothing herein shall prevent the parties from mutually agreeing to utilize Step IV, Mediation, of Article XXI, prior to Step V, Arbitration.
Removal of Discipline Any reprimand notices or disciplinary measures will remain on the employee or owner operator's file for one year from the date of notice or reprimand unless there is a re- occurrence of the same or similar infraction. At the completion of the one year period, the reprimand or disciplinary notice will be removed from the file. Said files to be removed shall not be considered to be removed but shall be physically removed and destroyed. If a repeat infraction occurs within the one year period, the original and subsequent notices or reprimands will remain on the file for a further year from the date of the most recent notice or reprimand. Reprimand notices and disciplinary measures resulting from violations of a criminal or civil nature, including driving record, will remain part of the employee or owner operator's file indefinitely. Whenever an employee or owner operator signs a document pertaining to discipline, he/she does so only to acknowledge that he/she has been notified accordingly.
Discipline Procedure To ensure that there is no misunderstandings when discipline is to be administered the Parties shall adhere to the following procedure in each instance of discipline.
Enforce Discipline Contractor shall at all times enforce strict discipline and good order among its employees, Subcontractors, and others performing the Work, and shall not employ or permit the employment of unfit persons or persons not skilled in the task assigned to them.
Discipline Policy A Discipline Policy Committee will be formed upon the request of the Association or the Board of Education. The committee will be comprised of members appointed by the Board and the Association. By the appropriate means determined by the Board, families will be informed of the District's policies regarding student behavior and discipline procedures. The foregoing committees, study groups, or faculty councils shall serve as advisory, consultative and fact-finding bodies only, and the Board shall not be required to adopt any of the recommendations submitted. The Board agrees, however, that the Association and the teachers shall have the right to submit recommendations and views on these subjects.
Non-Discrimination Policy State-Federal Law
Notice of Discipline All notices of disciplinary action shall include a statement of the reasons therefor and a statement advising the employee that the action is subject to Article 20,
Types of Discipline The types of discipline recognized for purposes of applying one of the appeal procedures under this Article are:
