NOTICE OF POLICIES AND PRACTICES UTILIZED BY THE
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY CENTER
TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
(continued)

III.  Uses and disclosures with neither consent nor authorization.

The CPC may use or disclose PHI without your consent or authorization in the following circumstances:

• Child abuse.  If a therapist in the CPC has reasonable cause, on the basis of professional judgment and in the course of professional activity within the CPC, to suspect abuse of an identifiable child, the therapist is required by law to report this to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.

• Adult and domestic abuse.  If a therapist in the CPC has reasonable cause to believe that an older adult is in need of protective services (in conection with abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandoment), the therapist may report this to a local agency which provides protective services.

• Judicial or administrative proceedings.  If you are involved in a court proceeding, and a request is made about the professional services you received in the CPC or the records thereof, such information is privileged under Pennsylvania law, and the CPC will not release the information without your written consent or a court order.  The privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third party or when the evaluation is court ordered.  You will be informed in advance if this is the case.

• Serious threat to health or safety.  If you express a serious threat or intent to kill or seriously injure an identified or readily identifiable person or group of people, and your therapist in the CPC determines that you are likely to carry out the threat, the therapist must take reasonable measures to prevent harm.  Reasonable measures may include directly advising the potential victim of the threat or intent.

• Workers’ compensation.  If you file a workers’ compensation claim, the CPC will be required to file periodic reports with your employer, which shall include, where pertinent, history, diagnosis, tretament, and prognosis.

• As allowed under other sections of Section 164.512 of the Privacy Rule and Pennsylvania law.  This incudes certain narrowly-defined disclosures to law enforcement agencies, to a health oversight agency (such as HHS or the Pennsylvania Department of Health), a coroner or medical examiner, for public health purposes related to disease or FDA-regulated products, or for specialized government functions such as fitness for military duty, eligibility for VA benefits, and national security and intelligence.

• Records  "converted" under FERPA.  Consistent with the Family Educational Records Protection Act (FERPA), the records of current students at the University of Pittsburgh may on rare occasion be  "converted," resulting in a decreased level of privacy protection.  This occurs when the records are used for purposes other than treatment of a physical or mental health disorder.  Records are most commonly  "converted" when they are used for research purposes or when they are inspected by someone not involved in the student’s treatment, such as a parent, the student, or another party.  After this occurs, those portions of the student’s CPC record that were used for purposes other than treatment fall under FERPA guidelines.  FERPA permits university officials to inspect records for cause and under some circumstances permits the student’s family member to inspect the records.

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