Welcome
to the University of San Diego’s Wellness Area!
We appreciate your coming our way, and look forward to working with
you. The following provides important
information about our services. Please
read what follows carefully and sign below.
If you would like a copy of this information, ask your wellness
provider, or find it on the Student Wellness Website
(www.sandiego.edu/wellness).
The
University of San Diego’s Wellness Area (USD-WA) offers a variety of clinical and
support services including medical services from the Student Health Center,
psychological and psychiatric services from the Counseling Center, clinical and
recovery based support from the Center for Health and Wellness Promotion and
support from the Disability and Learning Differences Resource Center. The USD-WA
clinical services are provided by, or supervised by, professional, credentialed physicians, nurse
practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, counselors, a
board-certified psychiatrist and other health care providers.
Eligibility for clinical and support services
and referrals to the community: USD-WA provides services to currently
enrolled students. Services are provided
based on the urgency of presenting concerns and the availability of treatment. Should you require services that the Wellness
Area does not provide, we will provide a referral to a treatment provider in
the community, and in some instances the Wellness Area Case Manager may provide
support and direction as you secure these community based services. Examples of the kind of services not offered
at USD-WA include specialized health care, court-mandated treatment,
long-term/intensive treatment, and other forms of specialized treatment.
Emergency
services:
- In
the event of a mental health emergency that occurs during regular
business hours, come directly to the Counseling Center and inform the front
desk staff that it is important that you see a counselor right away. After
regular business hours, contact the USD Public Safety dispatcher by calling 619-260-2222
and ask to speak with the Counselor on-call. You can also secure emergency
services in the community by calling 911, calling the San Diego Mental Health
Crisis Hotline at 800-479-3339, or going to an urgent care center or hospital
emergency room.
- The Student Health Center is not equipped to
provide emergency medical services.
For on-campus emergencies you can contact the USD Public Safety
dispatcher by calling 619-260-2222. For off-campus emergencies you can call
911, or go to an urgent care center or hospital emergency room. When the
Student Health Center is closed, a health care provider is available by phone
to answer urgent medical questions that cannot wait for office hours. To get a
message to the on- call health care provider, call the Public Safety
dispatch line: (619) 260-7777.
Confidentiality
and Privacy: The clinical and support services provided by the USD-WA are kept
confidential in a manner consistent with applicable law. The clinical providers work collaboratively
to provide students with the best care possible, and this may involve sharing
information about students between units, including the Student Health
Center, the Center for Health and Wellness Promotion, the Disability and
Learning Differences Resource Center, and the Counseling Center. This information may include any clinically
relevant information deemed necessary for coordinating clinical and support services
between the units.
For
students, treatment of your health information is governed by the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and requirements of applicable
California law, including the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act
(CMIA), California Civil code Section 56-56.7.
The Wellness Area clinical providers will not disclose information to
others about you without your written permission except where such
disclosure is required or permitted by law.
The following are examples of when such disclosure may occur:
·
When the information is disclosed to
providers of health care, health care service plans, contractors, or other
health care professionals or facilities for purposes of diagnosis or treatment.
·
When there is reasonable suspicion
of abuse of children or elderly persons.
· If you are a serious danger to someone else.
· If you are likely to harm yourself unless
protective measures are taken, we may takes steps to protect you,
including notifying your family of our concern.
· If you are unable to care for your most
basic needs, or your health is in serious danger.
· If your treatment records are compelled to
be produced pursuant to a subpoena or other court order.
· If you are under 18-years-old, your parents
or legal guardian may have access to your treatment records.
In addition to the
above listed exemptions to confidentiality, the USD-WA clinical providers are
also mandated to report certain conditions per state and federal laws which
affect public health and safety. For more information about these exemptions,
please contact your healthcare provider at the USD-WA. It is also possible
that at some point in the future you will be required by an outside agency to
sign a release allowing the agency to review your treatment records. This may occur, for example, if you apply for
health or life insurance, if you apply for licensure or certification in some
professions, or if you apply for employment in agencies that require a security
clearance.
For
Student Health Center patients who are not students, treatment of your health
information also is governed by the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA). For more
information, please see the Student Health Center’s Notice
of Privacy Practices.
Treatment
records:
All student treatment records are maintained in secure electronic data
bases. Access to these records is
limited to professional and administrative staff bound by confidentiality
agreements. Student Health Center
records pertaining to non-students are maintained in hard copy/paper format
only.
Use of student employees: The Wellness Area uses specially trained
student employees to supplement the work of front desk staff. The student employees take telephone
messages, manage appointments, and assist in uploading documents into health
records. Please discuss concerns you may
have about this with your provider or the Director of the Wellness Area unit
you are seeing.
Process
of Counseling:
Research indicates that most people who engage in counseling benefit
from the experience; even so, it is possible for things to get worse before
they get better. For example, it can be
difficult to discuss troubling memories in counseling, and students who address
especially troubling issues may find it difficult to concentrate on their
studies immediately after their sessions.
You and your counselor will collaborate in developing a treatment plan
that suits you, and will work together to determine the pace and form of
counseling so as to minimize the risks of counseling.
Recording
of counseling sessions: USD-WA is a training facility, and you may be
asked to grant your permission to record your counseling sessions for training
and supervision purposes. You may
decline to have your sessions recorded without impacting the services you
receive.
Research
and reports of summary data: From time to time the USD-WA uses aggregate
information gathered from students for research projects. These projects serve to enhance our services. No identifying information about any
individual student is ever disclosed in such projects. Similarly, the USD-WA compiles and reports
anonymous, summary data about students who use our services, but these reports
contain no identifying information about individual students.
Emails
and Secure Messaging: Although you may choose to contact USD-WA staff via conventional
or unsecured e-mail about such matters as rescheduling or canceling an
appointment, note that (1) staff may not check their e-mail regularly, (2)
staff may inadvertently miss your e-mail message altogether, (3) e-mail is
subject to interception and is not considered reliably confidential, and (4)
some staff may choose not to correspond with their clients via e-mail. Bearing this in mind, we encourage you to
utilize the Wellness Secure Messaging system (MyWellness) to communicate with
the Wellness Units providers in a safe and secure manner and to address any
urgent or sensitive matters by means of telephone or face-to-face conversations
rather than by electronic communication.
When utilizing My Wellness, it is important to remember to keep your
login and password safe and private.
Missed
Appointments:
Please give us as much notice as possible if you have to miss an
appointment, so that we can more easily accommodate other students in
need. If there is a pattern of missed appointments,
we may reassign your appointment times to other students who need our services.
Access
to Your Medical Records: Except as limited by law, you have the right,
upon your written request, to receive, at no charge, a copy of your medical
records maintained by the USD-WA.
University of San Diego Student Health Center
The University of San Diego Student Health
Center is committed to protecting the privacy of your health information. THIS
NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED
AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
The University of San Diego Student Health
Center (“SHC” or “we”) is required by federal and state law to maintain the
privacy of your health information. If you are a student, treatment of your
health information is governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA) and requirements of applicable California state law, including the
Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA), California Civil Code
Sections 56-56.37. CMIA generally requires your written authorization to
disclose your medical records to others, subject to certain exceptions,
including for example disclosures made to others for purposes of diagnosis or
treatment, in response to a subpoena or other court order, in medical
emergencies, in connection with the licensing or accreditation of the facility,
or
to the local health department. For more information, see California Civil Code Section 56.10.
The health information of all others is
governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and
the requirements of applicable California state law, including CMIA. For protected
health information covered by HIPAA (“PHI”), the SHC is required to provide you
with this Notice and abide by this Notice with respect to protected health
information covered by HIPAA.
Without your written authorization, we may use and disclose your
PHI as follows:
- Treatment: For
example, we may use or disclose PHI to determine which treatment option best
addresses your health needs or so other health care professionals can make
decisions about your care. However, in non-emergency situations, authorization
is required to disclose certain mental health care information to outside
providers or facilities
- Payment: In order for an insurance company to pay for your treatment, we
must disclose PHI that identifies you, your diagnosis, and the treatment
provided to you, to the insurance company.
- Health Care Operations: We may use or disclose your PHI in order
to improve the quality or cost of care we deliver. These activities may include
evaluating the performance of your health care providers, or examining the
effectiveness of the treatment provided to you. In addition, we may use or
disclose your PHI to send you a reminder about your next appointment.
- Required by Law: As
required by law, we may use and disclose your PHI. For example, we may disclose
medical information to government officials to demonstrate compliance with
HIPAA.
- Public Health: As
required by law, we may use or disclose your PHI to public health authorities
for purposes related to: preventing or controlling disease, reporting child
abuse or neglect, and reporting to the FDA.
- Health Oversight Activities: We
may use or disclose your PHI to health agencies during the course of audits,
investigations, licensure and other proceedings related to oversight of the
health care system.
- Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: We
may use or disclose your PHI in the course of any administrative or judicial
proceeding, in response to a court order or as otherwise authorized or required
by statute.
- Law Enforcement: We
may use or disclose your PHI to a law enforcement official for purposes such as
reporting a crime at our facility, complying with a court order or subpoena,
and for other law enforcement purposes as authorized or required by statute.
- Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral
Directors: We may use or disclose your PHI to coroners, medical examiners
and funeral directors.
- Organ and Tissue Donation: If
you are an organ donor, we may use or disclose your PHI to organizations
involved in procuring, banking or transplanting organs and tissues.
- Public Safety: We
may use or disclose your PHI to appropriate persons in order to prevent or
lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of any
individual.
- National Security: We
may use or disclose your PHI to authorized officials for purposes of
intelligence or other national security activities and protective services for
governmental leaders as authorized or required by statute.
- Workers’ Compensation: We
may disclose your PHI as necessary to comply with workers’ compensation laws.
- Disclosures to Plan Sponsors: We
may disclose your PHI to the sponsor of your health plan (if applicable), for
the purposes of administering benefits under the plan.
- Domestic Violence: We
may disclose your PHI to an authorized government authority if we reasonably
believe you to be a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence to the
extent the disclosure is required or authorized by law or if you agree to the
disclosure.
- Research: We may disclose your
PHI for research, regardless of the source of funding of the research, provided
that we obtain documentation that an alteration to or waiver of authorization
for use or disclosure of PHI has been approved either by an Institutional
Review Board or a privacy board, or if such disclosure is otherwise permitted
by law.
- Military and Veterans: If
you are a member of the armed forces, we may use or disclose your PHI to provide
information about immunization and/or a brief confirmation of general health
status as required by military command authorities.
- Inmates: If you are an inmate
at a correctional facility or in the custody of a law enforcement official, we
may use or disclose your PHI to the facility or the official as may be
necessary to provide information about immunization and/or a brief confirmation
of general health status, or as otherwise authorized or required by law.
- Family or Household Members: We
may use or disclose your PHI, pursuant to your verbal agreement, and in certain
circumstances without your agreement, for the purpose of including you in our
directory or for purposes of releasing information to family or household
members, who are involved in your care or payment for your care.
- Emergency Services: We
may use or disclose your PHI to provide to emergency services, health care or
relief agencies a brief confirmation of your health status for purposes of
notifying your family or household members.
- Business Associates: We
may use or disclose your PHI to a Business Associate, who is specifically
contracted to provide us with services utilizing that health information,
pursuant to an approved business associate agreement which assures that the
business associate will handle the PHI in compliance with privacy regulations.
- Limited Data Set: We
may use or disclose your PHI as part of a limited data set if we enter into a
data use agreement with the limited data set recipient. A limited data set is
PHI that excludes most direct identifiers.
When the University of San Diego May Not Use or Disclose Your PHI:
We must obtain your written
authorization for any use or disclosure of psychotherapy notes or of your PHI
for marketing, except in limited circumstances identified under the HIPAA
regulations. It is not our practice to
sell your PHI, but any such sale of PHI would require your written
authorization.
Except as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices, we will
not use or disclose your PHI without written authorization from you. If we ask
for an authorization, we will give you a copy. If we disclose partial or
incomplete information as compared to the authorization to disclose, we will
expressly indicate that the information is partial or incomplete. If you do
authorize us to use or disclose your health information for another purpose,
you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time. If you revoke your
authorization, we will no longer be able to use or disclose health information
about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization, though we will
be unable to take back any disclosure we have already made with your
permission. Revocation may be the basis for the denial of health benefits or
other insurance coverage or benefits.
Statement of Your Health Information Rights:
1.
Right to Request Restrictions: You
have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your
health information. The University is not required to agree to every
restriction that you request. If you would like to make a request for
restrictions, submit your request in writing to the Contact Person listed at
the end of this Notice.
2.
Right to Request Confidential
Communications: You have the right to request that you receive your health
information through a reasonable alternative means or at an alternative
location. A University health care provider is required to accommodate
reasonable requests. A health plan must permit you to request and accommodate
reasonable requests to receive communications by alternative means or at
alternative locations, if you clearly state that the disclosure could endanger
you. To request confidential communications, submit your request in writing to
the Contact Person listed at the end of this Notice.
3.
Right to Inspect and Copy: With
very limited exceptions, you have the right to inspect and copy your health
information. To inspect and copy such information, submit your request in
writing to the Contact Person listed at the end of this Notice. If you request
a copy of the information, we may charge you a reasonable fee to cover the
expenses associated with your request. In the event that the University uses or
maintains an electronic health record of information about you, then upon your
request, we will provide an electronic copy of the PHI to you or to a third
party designated by you.
4.
Right to Request Amendment: You
have the right to request the University correct, clarify and amend your health
information. To request a correction, clarification or amendment, submit your
request in writing to the Contact Person listed at the end of this Notice. We
may add a response to your submitted correction, clarification or amendment and
will provide you with a copy.
5.
Right to Accounting of Disclosures: You
have the right to receive a list or "accounting of disclosures" of
your health information made by the University, except that we generally do not
have to account for disclosures made for the purposes of treatment, payment, or
health care operations; for disclosures made to you; for disclosures made
pursuant to an authorization; for those made to our facility's directory or to
those persons involved in your care; incidental disclosures; for lawful
inquiries made pursuant to national security or intelligence purposes; for
lawful inquiries made by correctional institutions or other law enforcement
officials in custodial situations; or, for disclosures when your information
may become part of a limited data set. To request an accounting of disclosures,
submit your request in writing to the Contact Person listed at the end of this
Notice. Your request should specify a time period of up to six years and may
not include dates before April 14, 2003. The University will provide one list
per 12 month period free or charge; we may charge you for additional lists.
6. Right to Paper Copy: You
have a right to receive a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices at any
time. To obtain a paper copy of this Notice, send your written request to the
Contact Person listed at the end of this Notice. You may also obtain a copy of
this notice at our website: http://www.sandiego.edu. If
you would like to have a more detailed explanation of these rights, or if you
would like to exercise one or more of these rights, contact the Contact Person
listed at the end of this Notice.
Changes to this Notice of Privacy Practices/Breach Notification
The University of San Diego reserves the right to amend this
Notice of Privacy Practices at any time in the future and to make the new
Notice provisions effective for all health information that we maintain. We
will promptly revise our Notice and distribute it to you at your next visit
whenever we make material changes to the Notice. The University is required by
law to abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect. We also are required to notify affected
individuals following a breach of unsecured PHI.
Complaints
Complaints about this Notice of Privacy Practices or requests for
further information should be directed to the Contact Person listed below. The
University will not retaliate against you in any way for filing a complaint,
participating in an investigation, or exercising any other rights under the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). All complaints to
the University must be submitted in writing. If you believe your privacy rights
have been violated, you also may file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.
S. Department of Health and Human Services.
CONTACT PERSON:
Office Manager
Student Health Center
University of San Diego
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 260-4595
Effective Date of this Notice: 8/1/13
Concerns
about our services?
Should you have any concerns about the services you receive here,
consider addressing them with your provider, the director of the center, or the
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs.
- Dr. Melissa Halter, Director of the Center for Health and Wellness Promotion (619) 260-4618
- Dr. Steve Sprinkle, Director of the
Counseling Center (619) 260-4655
- Pamela Sikes, F.N.P.-B.C., Director of the
Student Health Center (619) 260-4595
- Dr. Christopher Burden, Director of
Disability and Learning Differences Resource Center (619) 260-4655
- Assistant Vice President (619)
260-4655