Privacy Policy

All Services Received Are Confidential

All services provided are confidential within BWC, apart for communications necessary for billing or insurance purposes. We will also break confidentiality, if necessary to keep you or another person safe. In rare cases, we may have to release your records if ordered by a court of law.

Email Should Not Be Considered Confidential

Email travels through multiple servers and networks before reaching a destination, making them vulnerable to interception at any point in transit. They are also stored on servers maintained by email providers, where unauthorized individuals, including hackers or employees, could potentially access them. Additionally, email accounts can be compromised through weak passwords, phishing attacks, or insufficient security measures. Even if the content is encrypted, metadata such as sender, recipient, subject, and timestamps are often visible, providing information about the communication. Recipients can easily forward emails, spreading information beyond the original parties. Employers or email service providers might have policies allowing them to monitor or access emails, and legal authorities can request access through warrants or subpoenas. While encryption can enhance confidentiality, not all emails are encrypted. Because of these vulnerabilities, sensitive information should be handled through more methods.

Patient Record Release

Patient records are kept in a secure online electronic database. These will not be released to third parties without your permission. In cases where a third party is requiring your records, we require a signed consent as a starting point, as well as a conversation between you and your provider. This is because we need to verify you have informed consent in terms of what we are being asked to provide. This process requires us to understand the nature of the information requested, how it will be used, and who will have access to this information. Clinical notes are by definition and procedure ambiguous, non-linear and at risk for misinterpretation. It is not recommended that clinical notes be released to third parties for this specific reason. Further, any tests or scales administered cannot be provided to others who do not have the education and training to properly interpret them, or who are likely to cause harm by misrepresenting the findings. We can, however, provide a written summary of records or findings by request, for our standard fee, usually within 1-2 weeks. Anticipate 4-6 weeks for full chart requests.