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HIPAA Compliance

At The House of Life recovery center, we acknowledge the importance of protecting our patient’s health information.

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We ensure your protected health information by strictly adhering to HIPAA standards for confidentiality, integrity, and availability

Our expert team leverages safe electronic systems to store and transfer data, ensuring that access to confidential information is restricted to authorized personnel only when necessary. We conduct regular audits to ensure full compliance with HIPAA standards. We also continuously evaluate and update our practices to stay aligned with the latest regulatory changes. We follow HIPAA compliance to ensure top-quality care while keeping our client’s privacy a priority.


Client Complaints – Grievance Policy

At The House of Life residential program, we prioritize addressing every client complaint, whether raised by the client or their family members. We consider it essential to deliver exceptional care, enhance customer satisfaction, and fulfill our mission of continuous quality improvement. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us refine our services and ensure the highest standards of client care.

  1. The House of Life residential program has established a clear mechanism for addressing clients’ and families’ concerns regarding the quality of care. The Program Director, or the Chief Executive Officer in the Director’s absence, is readily available to address any questions or issues related to care that remain unresolved by the treatment team or other staff members.
  2. The House of Life residential program implements a comprehensive inquiry and grievance procedure. Clients and families are informed of their right to file a complaint during the admission process by the Intake Counselor. Filing a complaint will not jeopardize a client’s future access to care. To file a complaint, clients should follow these steps: 
  1. Clients may request to speak with the Program Director or Chief Executive Officer, if the Director is unavailable, to express their concerns. 
  2. All requests will receive a timely response, including an action plan to resolve the issue. 
  3. If an immediate resolution is not possible, the concern will be escalated to the appropriate personnel for further investigation and corrective action. 
  4. Employees who become aware of a complaint are responsible for promptly notifying the senior staff on duty, who will then communicate with the Program Director or Chief Executive Officer in the Director’s absence.

3. The nature of complaints, the follow-up actions taken, and communications regarding those actions will be documented for Quality Control purposes.

Department of Health Care Services Address:
P.O. Box 997413, MS 2601
Sacramento, CA 95899-7413

Joint Commission Accreditation Address:
701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20004


Confidentiality of Information

I have been informed that the confidentiality of all records and information related to my participation in The House of Life residential program is protected under the following laws:

  • California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 5328 through 5330
  • U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42, Sections 2.1 through 2.67
  • U.S. Code of Regulations, Title 42, Section 205.50
  • All other relevant State and Federal laws regarding the confidentiality of alcohol and drug program participant records.

These laws generally prohibit the disclosure of information to any party without my prior written consent. This consent must specify:

  1. The party authorized to receive the information
  2. The nature of the information being released
  3. Any limitations on the release of information

I authorize The House of Life to share information regarding my participation in the program for the following purposes:

  1. Monitoring and evaluating the services provided by the program
  2. Assessing and monitoring my progress as a program participant

The following entities are authorized to receive this information:

  • California Department of Health Care Services
  • Ventura County Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Administration
  • If applicable due to arrest or conviction: California Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Court and Probation Department with jurisdiction over my case(s).

I understand that I can revoke my permission to disclose this information anytime. This authorization will remain in effect until I expressly revoke it, or for three years from the date of my last participation in the program, whichever comes first.


Medical Record Security Plan

At our company, all personnel are required to uphold the integrity and confidentiality of medical and sensitive information related to our residents. This policy aims to equip staff with the information needed to deliver the highest quality of care while ensuring that residents feel safe sharing information necessary for their treatment. To achieve this, the facility will:

  • Collect and use individual medical information only for the purposes of providing services and for supporting the delivery, payment, integrity, and quality of those services.
  • The company will not use or disclose individual medical information for non-healthcare purposes, including direct marketing, employment, or credit evaluation, except as permitted by the Health and Human Services Privacy Regulations (“HHS Privacy Regulations”).
  • To ensure accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
  • With the individual’s informed consent and authorization.
  • Acknowledge that the medical information collected about residents must be accurate, timely, comprehensive, and accessible when required. The company will:
    • Make every effort to ensure the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of data while guaranteeing that authorized personnel have access when needed.
    • Complete and authenticate medical records in compliance with legal, ethical, and accreditation standards.
    • Retain records for the periods mandated by law and professional standards.
    • Avoid altering or destroying any entries; instead, identify errors while preserving the original entry, and create a new entry to reflect the correct information.
    • Implement appropriate measures to safeguard the integrity of all resident data.
  • Acknowledge that residents have the right to privacy, and the facility will uphold their dignity at all times.
  • Serve as responsible stewards of information by treating all individual medical records, as well as related financial, demographic, and lifestyle data, with the utmost sensitivity and confidentiality.

Consequently, the company will:

  • Only disclose medical record data with proper consent from the resident or their authorized representative, or as permitted by privacy regulations and applicable laws, such as communicable disease and child abuse reporting.
  • Remove resident identifiers when appropriate, such as during statistical reporting and evaluation studies.
  • Limit the disclosure of financial and other resident information solely to what is necessary for billing or other authorized purposes, by privacy regulations, applicable laws, and professional standards.
  • Acknowledge that certain medical information is particularly sensitive, including:
    • HIV/AIDS information
    • Mental health and developmental disability information
    • Alcohol and drug abuse information
    • Details about sexually transmitted or communicable diseases

The disclosure of this sensitive information could significantly harm residents by impacting employment opportunities, and insurance coverage, and potentially causing social stigma. Therefore, the company will apply additional confidentiality protections as mandated by law, professional ethics, and accreditation standards.

  • Recognize that, while the company “owns” the medical records, residents have the right to access the information contained within. To this end, the company will:
  • Allow residents to access and copy their protected health information as stipulated by privacy regulations.
  • Provide residents the opportunity to request corrections to any inaccurate data in their records, in line with privacy regulations.
  • Offer residents an accounting of uses and disclosures of their information that are not related to treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, as required by privacy regulations.
  • Ensure all employees receive annual training on HIPAA regulations and general confidentiality standards.
  • Allow clients to request their medical records at any time.
  • Maintain medical records on file for a total of three years.

**Mandate that all employees adhere to this policy, with the understanding that violations will not be tolerated. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, as well as potential criminal or professional.