Confidentiality

All services provided are strictly confidential. No information is released without your permission. Exceptions, however, may occur in extreme, life-threatening emergencies or when required by law. Examples of these situations may be:

  • Local medical associates – Some of our services, such as laboratory tests, are provided through contracts with medical associates. Since these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to them so they may perform the job we have asked them to do and bill you or your insurance coverage for the services provided. We require that our medical associates protect your health information.
  • Child abuse – If a provider at Health Services has reasonable cause to believe that a minor child is suffering physical or emotional injury resulting from abuse inflicted upon him or her which causes harm or substantial risk of harm to the child’s health or welfare (including sexual abuse), or from neglect (including malnutrition), Health Services must immediately report such conditions to the Massachusetts Department of Social Services.
  • Adult and Domestic abuse – If a provider at Health Services has reasonable cause to believe that an elderly person (age 60 or older) is suffering from or has died as a result of abuse, Health Services must immediately make a report to the Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs.
  • Public Health – We may use or disclose your health information to the Massachusetts Public Health Department to collect information for the purpose of controlling communicable disease.
  • Court ordered – We may use or disclose your health information in the event of a court order.
  • Law Enforcement officials – We may disclose your health information to law enforcement officials as required by law or in compliance with a court order. We may also disclose limited health information to police or law enforcement officials for identification and location purposes, and to assist in criminal investigations.
  • Serious threat to health or safety – If you communicate to a Health Services provider an explicit threat to kill or inflict serious bodily injury upon an individual, Health Services must take reasonable precautions, which may include warning potential victims, notifying law enforcement, or possibly arranging for your hospitalization. If you present as a danger to yourself and refuse appropriate treatment, we have a reasonable basis to believe that you can be committed to a hospital; we must seek said commitment and may contact members of your family or other individuals if it would assist in protecting you.