Addictions Training Institute – Counseling Policies
Counseling Policies

Policy and Procedure Manual Telehealth Counseling Services

Effective Date: 05/22/2023

HIPAA-Compliance & Privacy Statement:

          Download our Privacy Policy here: Privacy Booklet.       

The Addictions Training Institute is required to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of information about your health, health care, and payment for services related to your health. Confidentiality of substance abuse records maintained by The Addictions Training Institute complies with 42 CFR Part 2 – Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records per federal regulation if you are applying for or receiving services (including diagnosis, treatment, or referral) for substance use disorder. In addition, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Regulations (45 CFR Parts 160 and 164), also protects your health information.

The Addiction Training Institute (ATI) creates and maintains appropriate documentation. ATI’s telehealth services ensures that records and documentation created in any medium, which includes, but is not be limited to: cloud, laptop, flash drive, external hard drive, tablet, computer, and paper, is securely maintained in compliance with HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2, and that only authorized persons have access to documents. During the process of informed consent, ATI clinicians disclose to clients how records shall be stored, maintained, and disposed of per Federal and state laws and regulations. The Addictions Training Institute provides at least three referrals to clients needing treatment or services not provided by ATI. Referrals are only made to licensed or certified professionals and agencies. A referral can include help agencies such as 211, SAMSHA, and state licensing boards.

Procedures for Collecting Outcome Data & Continuous Improvement

The Addictions Training Institute’s Telehealth Services collects outcome data to be used for continuous program improvement. Data is collected at the time of discharge, at 1 month follow-up, and at 6 months follow-up. The Addictions Training Institute uses the Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription Medication, and Other Substance Use (TAPS) Tool, which is endorsed by the National Institutes of Health for collecting outcome data. Detailed information about this scale can be found here.

Partnerships

The Addictions Training Institute’s telehealth counseling service does not have partnerships with any other health service provider, agency, or entity. We are independently licensed professionals in the state of Florida. We refer clients to other services as needed, following our referral policies.

Referral Policy

The Addictions Training Institute provides at least three referrals to clients needing treatment or services not provided by ATI. Referrals are only made to licensed or certified professionals and agencies. A referral can include help agencies such as 211, SAMSHA, and state licensing boards.

Detoxification Policies Staffing and Supervision

The Addictions Training Institute does not provide detoxification services. We only provide fully online telehealth counseling services. Clients that require detoxification services are referred to 211, SAMSHA, and state licensing boards.

Urine and Breath Testing Policy

The Addictions Training Institute does not conduct urine or breath testing. Clients that require urine or breath testing services are referred to licensed testing centers.

No Kickback Policy

The Addictions Training Institute adheres to the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018. The Addictions Training Institute prohibits accepting or paying kickbacks for referrals to any person or entity including; recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, or laboratories. Violation of this policy results in disciplinary action up to and including immediate dismissal.

Privacy Policy

To find a full version of our Privacy Policy, please download our Privacy Booklet.

I. Collection of Information

We may collect the following kinds of information when you use a Service:

Information you provide directly to us. For certain Services or activities, such as when you register with a Service, subscribe to our alerts, or contact us directly, we may collect some or all of the following types of information:

  1. Contact information, such as your full name, email address, mobile phone number, and address;
  2. Username and password;
  3. Payment information, such as your credit card number, expiration date, and credit card security code;
  4. Personal health information, including information about your diagnosis, previous treatments, general health, and health insurance;
  5. Client/customer reviews; and
  6. Any other information you provide to us.

We may combine such information with information we already have about you.

Information we collect automatically. We may collect certain information automatically when you use our Services, such as your computer’s Internet protocol (IP) address, device and advertising identifiers, browser type, operating system, Internet service provider, pages that you visit before and after using the Services, the date and time of your visit, information about the links you click and pages you view within the Services, and other standard server log information. We may also collect certain location information when you use our Services, such as your mobile device’s GPS signal, or information about nearby WiFi access points and cell towers.

We may use cookies, pixel tags, Local Shared Objects, and similar technologies to automatically collect this information. Cookies are small bits of information that are stored by your computer’s web browser. Pixel tags are very small images or small pieces of data embedded in images, also known as “web beacons” or “clear GIFs,” that can recognize cookies, the time and date a page is viewed, a description of the page where the pixel tag is placed, and similar information from your computer or device. Local Shared Objects (sometimes referred to as “Flash Cookies”) are similar to standard cookies except that they can be larger and are downloaded to a computer or mobile device by the Adobe Flash media player. By using the Services, you consent to our use of cookies and similar technologies.

We may also collect technical data to address and fix technical problems and improve our Services. Your device or browser settings may permit you to control the collection of this technical data. By using the Services, you are consenting to us or any party acting on our behalf collecting this technical data.

Information from Third-Party Services. If you access the Services from an advertisement on a third-party website, application, or other service (a “Third-Party Service”) we may receive information from the owner of the Third-Party Service related to you or that advertisement.

Information we obtain from your health care providers and other sources. In connection with Services that involve medical treatment, we may collect medical records from your past, current, and future health care providers. This may include information about your diagnosis, previous treatments, general health, laboratory and pathology test results and reports, social histories, any family history of illness, and records about phone calls and emails related to your illness.

We may also receive information about you from other sources, including through third-party services and organizations. We may combine our first-party data, such as your email address or name, with third-party data from other sources and use this to contact you (e.g. through direct mail). For example, if you access third-party services, such as Facebook, Google, or Twitter, through the Services to login to the Services or to share information about your experience on the Services with others, we may collect information from these third-party services.

II. Use of Information

We may use the information we collect online to:

  1. Provide and improve the Services;
  2. Contact you;
  3. Fulfill your requests for products, services, and information;
  4. Send you information about additional clinical services or general wellness from us or on behalf of our affiliates;
  5. Analyze the use of the Services and user data to understand and improve the Services;
  6. Conduct research using your information, which may be subject to your separate written authorization;
  7. Prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities; and
  8. For any other purposes disclosed to you at the time we collect your information or pursuant to your consent.

III. Sharing of Information

We are committed to maintaining your trust, and we want you to understand when and with whom we may share the information we collect.

  1. The Addictions Training Institute uses protected health information to diagnose and treat our clients.  This information may be shared in a confidential manner with:

    *licensed professionals for the purpose of consultation. Law Enforcement in the client’s jurisdiction as required by law in the event of:

    *Suicidal ideation / threat to themselves

    *Homicidal ideation / threat to others

    *Child abuse / neglect or abandonment

    *Elder or disabled adult abuse / neglect or exploitation

  2. Authorized third-party vendors and service providers. We may share your information with third-party vendors and service providers that help us with specialized services, including billing, payment processing, providing medical advice for telemedicine services, management and hosting of telemedicine services, customer service, email deployment, business analytics, marketing (including but not limited to advertising, attribution, deep-linking, direct mail, mobile marketing, optimization and retargeting) advertising, performance monitoring, hosting, and data processing. These third-party vendors and service providers may not use your information for purposes other than those related to the services they are providing to us.
  3. Legal purposes. We may disclose information to respond to subpoenas, court orders, legal process, law enforcement requests, legal claims or government inquiries, and to protect and defend the rights, interests, health, safety, and security of the Addictions Training Institute, our affiliates, patients, users, or the public.
  4. Business Transfers. HIPAA permits organizations to transfer PHI in certain circumstances. We can transfer your information as part of a transfer of the assets of the organization, merger, or consolidation or in the unlikely event of bankruptcy, if such transfer is permissible under HIPAA and the HIPAA Notice.
  5. Protected Health Information. We may transfer your PHI as described in the HIPAA Notice and permitted under HIPAA.
  6. With your consent or at your direction. We may share information for any other purposes disclosed to you at the time we collect the information or pursuant to your consent or direction.If you choose to engage in public activities on the third party sites that we link to, you should be aware that any information you share there can be read, collected, or used by other users of these sites and forums. You should use caution in disclosing personal information while participating in these areas. We are not responsible for the information you choose to submit in public areas.
  7. No information provided by patients during medical consultations or requests for medical appointments is ever used for marketing purposes.

IV. Security

We use measures to protect Protected Health Information from loss, theft, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction in accordance with HIPAA. We use measures designed to protect other information from loss, theft, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. You should understand that no data storage system or transmission of data over the Internet or any other public network can be guaranteed to be 100 percent secure.

V. Your Choices

You may also request that we delete your personal information by sending us an email at support@addictionstraininginstitute.com. We will delete such information unless we are required to maintain information in accordance with applicable law.

You may be able to refuse or disable cookies by adjusting your web browser settings. Because each web browser is different, please consult the instructions provided by your web browser (typically in the “help” section). Please note that you may need to take additional steps to refuse or disable Local Shared Objects and similar technologies. For example, Local Shared Objects can be controlled through the instructions on Adobe’s Setting Manager page. If you choose to refuse, disable, or delete these technologies, some of the functionality of the Services may no longer be available to you.

We do not share Protected Health Information with third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.

VI. Third-party Links and Content

Some of the Services may contain links to content maintained by third parties that we do not control. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties, and the information practices of these third parties are not covered by this Privacy Policy.

VII. Limiting Data Collection and Do Not Track

Opt-Out. To opt out of interest-based advertising across browsers and devices from companies that participate in the Digital Advertising Alliance or Network Advertising Initiative opt-out programs, please visit their respective websites. You may also be able to opt out of interest-based advertising through the settings within the mobile app or your mobile device, but your opt-out choice may apply only to the browser or device you are using when you opt out, so you should opt out on each of your browsers and devices if you want to disable interest-based advertising for those browsers and devices. If you opt out, you will still receive ads but they may not be as relevant to you and your interests, and your experience on our Services may be degraded.

Do-Not-Track Signals and Similar Mechanisms. Some web browsers transmit “do-not-track” signals to websites. Because of differences in how web browsers incorporate and activate this feature, it is not always clear whether users intend for these signals to be transmitted, or whether they even are aware of them. We currently do not take action in response to these signals.

VIII. Children

We do not knowingly allow individuals under the age of 18 to create accounts that allow access to our Services.

IX. Changes to the Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we update the Privacy Policy, we will revise the “Effective Date” date above and post the new Privacy Policy. We recommend that you review the Privacy Policy each time you visit the Services to stay informed of our privacy practices.

X. Questions?

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our practices, please email us at support@addictionstraininginstitute.com.