Rockbridge Area Community Services understands your privacy is important to you, and it is important to us as service providers. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) gives clients the guarantee that protected health information (PHI) is protected by Federal law. Your health information is kept confidential and private with the following exceptions:

When you sign the Authorization for Services, you allow us to use and disclose necessary health information about you within the agency in order to provide treatment/services in conducting our day-to-day business operations and to assign payment of benefits and bill third-party insurance companies (when applicable) for services rendered.

If you were to experience a medical or psychiatric emergency that was potentially life threatening to you or toward someone else.

If you reported activities of suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of children and disabled or elderly adults.

A judge ordered that your medical records be released.

Our agency was reviewed by an accrediting/licensing agency (who is also legally required to keep your health information confidential)

A medical examiner required access to your records following your death.

Any other disclosure of your health information requires a release-of-information form that specifically states what information will be given to whom, for what purpose, for what period of time it will remain in effect and it has been signed and dated by you or your legal representative. At any time, you have the right to revoke some or all of these signed authorizations to release information by giving to us a written statement to that effect. This revocation will not effect any action already taken by the Rockbridge Area Community Services related to these releases.

You have the following Rights concerning your health information in our medical record:

The right to request to: access, review, copy, audit, make corrections and place restrictions on uses and disclosures of your medical records. Likewise, RACSB has the right not to agree to special restrictions and to deny or limit your access under circumstances when disclosure will be harmful to you. In the event of such special circumstances, we would work with your attorney or another primary service provider that was providing you treatment to release your health information to them. You have the right to receive at any time an accounting of RACS’s disclosure of your medical records.

RACS reserves the right to change any of its Privacy policies and related practices at any time, as allowed by Federal and Virginia law. You will receive notice of Privacy changes either by mail or from one of our staff, who is providing you treatment services.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the privacy and confidentiality of your care or records, please contact Anne Cavanaugh, Director, Quality Improvement, Human Resources and Corporate Compliance.