HIPAA & FERPA
Mental/Behavioral Health support is a personal matter and all inquiries and sessions at the CPRC are private and confidential, and considered protected health information (PHI); which is protected under state/federal laws and regulations governing privacy. It is not part of your academic or administrative record at IHCC.
Although IHCC is governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, the CPRC is also governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is a federal law that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information.
Please review and retain for your records:
CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality is a foundation for trust and is a priority in every CPRC service. When you meet with a counselor, you can trust that your privacy will be protected. Confidentiality allows you to feel safe in discussing your thoughts, emotions and behaviors with full confidence that what you say remains between you and your counselor.
There are some specific limits to confidentiality that exist within the provision of privacy law. Some of these include:
- If you are under 18 years of age or are a dependent adult, a parent or legal guardian needs to approve service provision, and may request access to service information and/or may authorize its release to other parties.
- If you are determined to be in imminent danger of harming yourself or someone else.
- If there is disclosure of abuse or neglect to a child or dependent adult.
- Where there is a mental health supervisor overseeing service delivery.
- Where CPRC and/or IHCC staff are directly involved in the daily service delivery and/or maintenance of records.
- Where others are legally required.
Release of Information
Aside from the above exceptions, the CPRC’s policy prohibits the release of any PHI without proper authorization. PHI MAY be disclosed or released to any designated third party, ONLY AFTER receiving an explicit and informed written/signed authorization from you or a parent/legal guardian, as applicable. This is called a Release of Information (ROI).
Please fill out a ROI if you would like to:
- Authorize the CPRC to release a copy of your records.
- Authorize the CPRC to share information from your records with a third party.
- Authorize the CPRC to request records from another provider.
When PHI is appropriately released, it is the policy of the CPRC that the minimum necessary information be disclosed. To request an ROI and review the related policy, please call 641-683-5152 or email [email protected].
Contact Us
Counseling and Prevention Resource Center
Indian Hills Community College
Trustee Hall, First Floor
525 Grandview Avenue Ottumwa, Iowa 52501
Phone: (641) 683-5152 or (800) 726-2585, ext. 5152
Email: [email protected]
Questions about services may be emailed, however, we do not schedule appointments via email, because email is not considered a confidential communication. Staff are also not able to check email with regularity or frequency, therefore for the timeliest and most confidential communication, please call!