Confidential Alcohol & Drug Rehab
- June 5, 2023
- Prosperity Haven
- Addiction Treatment
If you’re thinking about going to rehab, you may be wondering: is rehab confidential? This is crucial to know, particularly if you have an employer who may fire you if they find out you have a substance abuse problem.
In this blog, we’ll let you know all the laws and regulations surrounding rehab confidentiality.
Why Rehabs Keep Your Records Safe
First things first. You can absolutely go to rehab in the United States without being worried about your rehab telling people. Rehabs abide by this for the following reasons.
It’s Morally Correct
The first reason that good rehabs are pretty serious about not revealing the information of patients is that, firstly, it’s the right thing to do. It simply isn’t morally right to give away the information of patients to other people.
Rehabs Are Bound By Law
Secondly, rehabs are bound to confidentiality under law. You can be assured of a confidential recovery, as if rehabs tell other people about your treatment, they will be in big legal trouble. This means that it is extremely unlikely that rehabs will give your information over to anyone.
It Wouldn’t Be Good For Business
Realistically, a rehab is a business, and has to keep the welfare of their clients as a priority. If people found out that a rehab was giving up the confidentiality of their clients, it would be unlikely that anyone would want to go there.
Why Rehab Records Must Be Kept Confidential
There are two main reasons that you should care about your rehab records being kept strictly confidential.
Employment Protection
Employers are protected by law from being fired due to their addiction by. However, employers are also bound to protect both their employees and their clients. If you have an addiction and, for example, drive heavy machinery, your employer may have grounds to fire you on the grounds that it may be dangerous to allow you to continue working for them.
Employers are also usually bound to not fire someone because they previously had an addiction problem, but the unfortunate reality is that some business owners may not want someone who used to be addicted to substances working for them. This is not just unfortunate for the employee, but also for the owner. People who previously had substance addiction problems are often some of the most diligent and hardworking employees available!
Despite the law being in place to protect employees in these situations, if a business owner finds out you used to have substance abuse problems and wants to fire you, they can use another reason for doing this. So in some circumstances, it is better that your employer does not find out about your addiction issues.
Protecting Your Reputation
In decades gone by, addiction was seen as a moral failing that only weak-minded people went through. The consensus was that with will-power alone, you could power yourself out of addiction.
We now know this to be untrue. Addiction is treatable, but it requires the help of people with addiction experience to guide you out of addiction. It usually requires a concerted effort over a period of years, with plenty of support over this time.
Unfortunately, there are still people who cling on to the old ideas surrounding addiction. If these types of people find out about your addiction, they may think less of you, and your standing in your community could suffer as a result.
Does Rehab Go On Your Record?
Rehab does not go on any record that is available to the public, unless it is a court mandated attendance in which case it may become part of your court records. While your insurance company will be aware and it would therefore be in your personal insurance records, those records are not available to the public.
Confidentiality Laws That Protect Your Privacy
There are a number of different confidentiality laws that can protect your privacy. These are legislated by different government organizations, with the intention of looking after your interests.
HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, known as HIPAA, is a federal law that protects your health information. This law means that your health information may not be shared without your express knowledge and consent. If a rehab breaches HIPAA, they can face a fine of up to $50,000, as well as a prison sentence of up to one year.
Federal regulation 42 CFR Part 2
This regulation protects information relating to substance use disorders. The reason this law exists is that if your information is disclosed without your consent, it may serve as a barrier to getting treatment.
The law was developed as health officials realized that privacy was a serious concern for people wanting to go to rehab, and that not having privacy might cause people to not go to rehab.
This law prevents addiction treatment centers from telling people outside of the treatment center that you are a patient at the center, and also prevents rehab center employees from giving away any information that might be used to identify you.
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
ADA is an act that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all walks of life. It applies to addiction as it means that any drug user who has been successfully rehabilitated and is no longer engaged in illegal drug use OR who is currently undergoing a rehab program and are no longer using drugs may not be fired due to their previous drug use.
Note that ADA does not cover people who are current drug users. It additionally will not cover someone who has been found to have been using drugs in the workplace, and then immediately enrolls on a rehabilitation program before their employer has a chance to fire them.
Contact Our 100% Confidential Rehab Treatment Center To Get Help Today
At Prosperity Haven, we treat the confidentiality of our patients incredibly seriously. We absolutely do not give any information about our patients out to anyone, unless we are given instructions from our patient to do so.
If you decide to come to Prosperity Haven for confidential addiction help, we will make sure that no one finds out, unless you want them to. If you want to talk more about this with us, please contact us. We can arrange to speak with you at a time that is suitable for you.
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