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PRIVACY POLICY

Tree House Recovery has a legal and ethical responsibility to safeguard the privacy of all clients
and to protect the confidentiality and security of all health information.

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree House Recovery collects, utilizes and protects your
personal information.

General Privacy
Protected Health Information (PHI)
It is the responsibility of Tree House and all of its employees to protect against the unauthorized
disclosure of confidential information. THR is fully compliant with federal law and regulations
(HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2) and state regulations.
Only staff who require access to client health information will be given access to client records
through the Electronic Medical Record. All EMR users have unique, secure logins and access
limited by the Compliance Department, based solely on what is needed for a staff member to
perform their role..
Except as permitted in State and Federal law governing confidentiality of client records, Tree
House Recovery will only release client information with the express written, signed, and dated
consent of a client.
However, THR is permitted to disclose client information without client consent in the following
circumstances:
● In cases of medical emergency
● In reporting crimes that occur on program premises or against staff
● In cases of suspected child abuse or neglect
● A valid court order
● When cause of death is being reported
● To entities having administrative control
● To qualified service organizations
● To outside auditors
● During a declared public health emergency to certain health officials
● For research purposes, if the research meets certain criteria subject to federal and state
law

Confidentiality when answering phone calls:
Tree House cannot confirm or deny if a participant is in our care or disclose any protected health
information of any kind unless it has been verified that the participant has signed a release of
information or acknowledgement of presence in treatment for the individual on the phone.

Patient / Client Rights
Confidentiality
Every program participant has the right to confidentiality and privacy, and is the only individual
who can relinquish that right. No program participant information can be disclosed to any
individual or agency without the consent of the program participant. In addition, the program
participants’ enrollment and participation in the alcohol/drug treatment program is confidential
and protected under the Code of Federal Regulation Title-42. Therefore, no employee is
permitted to release any information, including the fact that the program participant is
participating in our program, without the express written consent of the program participant,
clearly designating to whom any information can be released to.

Access to Counseling Files
Unless authorized in writing by the program participant, no Tree-House Recovery representative
will have access to any program participant files. Staff whose duties require access to the
medical record, will only have access to the documents that are needed to perform their duties.
Unauthorized access to these files is grounds for dismissal. Additionally, the program participant
has the right to request his file with the approval of the Tree-House Recovery Clinical Director
and Compliance Director. Tree-House Recovery maintains the right to deny such request in the
event that:
● The file would constitute an immediate and grave detriment to the treatment of the
program participant.
● The information relates to a program participant other than the participant seeking it.
● Disclosure of the information would constitute a danger to another individual.

Any denial of a request by a program participant for his files will be recorded in the permanent
record of the participant and the reasons for the denial must be included.
The program participant has the right to request an amendment to his file, including withdrawing
consents.

Additionally, clients have the following rights in regards to privacy and confidentiality (excerpt
from Client Rights Policy):

1. You have the right to privacy and security in the treatment environment
2. You have a right to access and amend your health information and obtain information on
disclosures of this information.
3. You have a right to confidentiality. Your presence in substance abuse treatment, and the
records of your treatment is protected under 42CFR, Part 2, Code of Federal
Regulations.
4. You have the right to confidentiality and privacy of your protected healthcare information.
Your protected healthcare information is protected under HIPAA legislation 45 CFR,
Parts 160 & 164
5. You have the right to give informed consent in writing prior to the start of services, except
in a medical emergency or as otherwise permitted in law

Website:

What Information is Collected?:
In general, you can visit this website without telling us who you are or revealing any personal
information about yourself. When you visit, you anonymously disclose certain information, such
as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and the time of your visit. This anonymous internet traffic
data is automatically provided to us and may be archived and retained indefinitely. This website,
like many other websites, records this basic information. Please note that we are not able to tie
any of this data to specific individuals. Also, if you choose to contact us through the website, we
may require some basic personal information about yourself. We ask for this information so that
we are able to follow up on any questions or requests for information you may have.
“Cookies” are pieces of information that are transferred to a computer from a web server. Most
browsers are set up to accept cookies, but you may change your settings to notify you when a
new cookie is requested or to refuse to accept cookies. A cookie allows us to recognize you
when you are re-accessing our website and track and log usage on the website.
The only PHI that the website could capture would be through the “chat” function. The chat
function is through “Intercom”, a HIPAA compliant application. While records are stored
indefinitely, they are stored securely. PHI would only be collected if it was disclosed. Most
conversations occur over the phone, and the likelihood of PHI disclosure via chat is low. Our
staff are trained in HIPAA and security, privacy, and confidentiality.

Utilization of Collected Information
The information we collect is utilized to assist us in improving our business and the performance
and content of this website.
Any PHI that may be collected through the chat function will only be used for treatment eligibility
purposes and may be used to inform treatment.

Protection of Collected Information:
The privacy and protection of your personal information is important to us. We will not make any
personal information available to third parties without your permission.
Security measures are in place to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of the
information collected that is under our control. In addition, our business practices are reviewed
periodically for compliance with policies and procedures governing the security and
confidentiality of the information.

Links to Other Websites:
Our website contains links, for your convenience, to other websites. We are not responsible for
the privacy practices or content of these other websites. If you connect to another site through
our website, we cannot control what they do with your information. Inclusion of these links does
not mean we endorse the information or content on a linked website. These linked websites
may send their own cookies to your browser and may collect and utilize your data in a manner
inconsistent with the terms of this Privacy Policy. We highly suggest you review the privacy
policy that pertains to the organization of any site you link to from our website.
Also, you may have the opportunity to share your information through social media or other
similar websites through a link on this website. Please note that we cannot control these other
websites or your posts and sharing.

Changes to Privacy Policy
If this Privacy Policy or procedures change, we will immediately post the changes on the
website. Any such changes will be effective immediately upon being posted, unless otherwise
Stated.

Consent:
By visiting our website, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Tree House Recovery – Compliance Department, Privacy Policy – V1.0, Effective 08.20.2020

By using our site, you consent to our privacy policy.

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page.