NO SHOW/LATE CANCELATION POLICY
This policy has been established to help us serve you better.
It is necessary for us to make appointments in order to see our clients as efficiently as possible. No-shows and late cancellations cause problems that go beyond a financial impact on our practice when an appointment is made, it takes an available time slot away from another client. No-shows and late cancellations delay the delivery of services to other clients.
A no-show is missing a scheduled appointment. A late-cancellation is canceling an appointment without giving us 24-hour notice.
We understand that some circumstances are unavoidable, and these situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
If you miss 2 appointments without the proper notification, we reserve the right to close you to services.
I have read the above policy and hereby accept the obligation for compliance.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL AND DRUG AND ALCOHOL RELATED
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN
GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
General Information
Information about your treatment and care, including payment for care, is protected by two federal laws: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) * and the Confidentiality Law**. Under these laws the program may not say to a person outside of the program that you attend the program, nor may the program disclose any information identifying you as an alcohol or drug abuser, or disclose any other protected information except as permitted by the federal laws referenced below.
The program must obtain your written consent before it can disclose information about you for payment purposes. For example, the program must obtain your written consent before it can disclose information to your health insurer in order to be paid for services. Generally, you must also sign a written consent before the program can share information for treatment purposes or for health care operations. However, federal law permits the program to disclose information in the following circumstances without your written permission:
- To program staff for the purposes of providing treatment and maintaining the clinical record;
- Pursuant to an agreement with a business associate (e.g., Clinical laboratories, pharmacy, record storage services, billing services);
- For research, audit or evaluations (e.g., State licensing review, accreditation, program data reporting as required by the State and/or Federal government);
- To report a crime committed on the program’s premises or against program personnel;
- To medical personnel in a medical/psychiatric emergency;
- To appropriate authorities to report suspected child abuse or neglect;
- To report certain infectious illnesses as required by state law;
- As allowed by a court order.
Before the program can use or disclose any information about your health in a manner which is not described above, it must first obtain your specific written consent allowing it to make the disclosure. Any such written consent may be revoked by you in writing. (NOTE: Revoking a consent to disclose information to a court, probation department, parole office, etc. may violate an agreement that you have with that organization. Such a violation may result in legal consequences for you.)
* 42 U.S.C. § 130d et. seq., 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 & 164 *
* 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2, 42 C.F.R. Part 2
Your Rights
- Under HIPAA you have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health and treatment information. The program is not required to agree to any restrictions that you request, but if it does agree with them, it is bound by that agreement and may not use or disclose any information which you have restricted except as necessary in a medical emergency.
- You have the right to request that we communicate with you by alternative means or at an alternative location (e.g., another address). The program will accommodate such requests that are reasonable and will not request an explanation from you.
- Under HIPAA you also have the right to inspect and copy your own health and treatment information maintained by the program, except to the extent that the information contains psychotherapy notes or information compiled for use in a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding or in other limited circumstances.
- Under HIPAA you also have the right, with some exceptions, to amend health care information maintained in the program’s records, and to request and receive an accounting of disclosures of your health-related information made by the program during the six (6) years prior to your request.
- If your request to any of the above is denied, you have the right to request a review of the denial by the program Administrator.
- To make any of the above requests, you must fill out the appropriate form that will be provided by the program.
- You also have the right to receive a paper copy of this notice.
The Use of Your Information at the program
In order to provide you with the best care, the program will use your health and treatment information in the following ways:
- Communication among program staff (including students or other interns) for the purposes of treatment needs, treatment planning, progress reporting and review, staff supervision, incident reporting, medication administration, billing operations, medical record maintenance, discharge planning, and other treatment related processes.
- Communication with Business Associates such as clinical laboratories (drug patch, urinalysis), agencies that provide on-site services (lectures, group therapy), and long-term record storage.
The Program’s Duties
The program is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information. The program is required by law to abide by the terms of this notice. The program reserves the right to change the terms of this notice and to make new notice provisions effective for all protected health information it maintains. The program will provide current clients with an updated notice and will provide affected former clients with new notices when substantive changes are made in the notice.
Complaints and Reporting Violations
Clients have the right to make a complaint about the Confidentiality and Privacy of their Health Information. The client may complete a Statement of Grievance form and submit the grievance. The Grievance will be reviewed by the grievance coordinator who may be the.
The complaint will be reviewed by an appropriate individual, based on the nature of the complaint. That individual will complete the Statement of Grievance form.
Violation of the Confidentiality law by a program is a crime. The client may also register a complaint with the:
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
PO Box 202960
Helena, MT 5920-2690
Https://dphhs.mt.gov/Portals/85/qad/documents/programCompliance/HIPPS/complaintform.pdf
You will not be retaliated against for filing such a complaint.
Effective Date 4/9/18
Grievance Procedure
The purpose of a grievance procedure policy is to set forth clearly the rights of a client to file a grievance and the procedure for doing so. Any client of Boyd Andrew Community Services has a right to file a grievance for any reason without alteration, interference, or delay, and without fear of any adverse action occurring as a result. Staff and clients are asked to keep in mind that the grievance procedure is to be used when informal procedures do not work or are felt to be inadequate.
If a client has a complaint or grievance the following steps should be taken. These steps should be taken in order unless there is an over-riding reason to skip a step.
- The grievance or complaint should be orally presented to the client’s assigned counselor. This will often resolve the problem. If the client is not satisfied, he/she should proceed to step 2 within five working days.
- The client should next make an appointment with the Director of SUD services. The client will be asked to fill out a "Grievance Form" (see FORMS MANUAL) and give a detailed explanation of the grievance. The Director of SUD services will investigate the grievance and give a written response as to findings and actions taken within five working days.
- If a client is not satisfied, he/she should request in writing that the Director of HR/Ops investigate. A letter should be submitted to the Director of HR/Ops within five working days. The letter should be submitted to the CEO who will pass it on to the Board of Directors.
- If the client is still not satisfied, he/she should request in writing that the Board of Directors investigate. A letter should be submitted to the Board President within five working days of receipt of the report issued above by the Director of HR/OP to the Board President via the CEO.
The Board President will then select a committee, consisting of the President and two other board members, who will investigate the grievance. The committee selection, investigation, and subsequent report to the client will be completed in an expeditious manner.
NOTE: If at any time the client wishes to drop the grievance, they must inform the Grievance Coordinator in writing.
GENERAL INTAKE INFORMATION CHECKLIST