Aiken Center employees shall strive to maintain the confidentiality of client and other confidential information in accordance with applicable legal and ethical standards.

The Aiken Center and its employees are in possession of and have access to a broad variety of confidential, sensitive and proprietary information, the inappropriate release of which could be injurious to individuals, the Aiken Center’s business partners and the Aiken Center itself. Every Aiken Center employee has an obligation to actively protect and safeguard confidential information in a manner designed to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information.

All Aiken Center employees have an obligation to conduct themselves in accordance with the principle of maintaining the confidentiality of client information in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.  These laws and regulations include:

• The federal law governing Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Client Records and its implementing regulations, 42 C.F.R. Part 2.
• The federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and164 that relate to privacy rules regarding protected heath information;
• The federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 45 C.F.R. Parts 142 and162 that relate to rules governing security controls that are required when an entity stores, uses or shares client information in an electronic manner;
• Applicable laws and regulations of the State of South Carolina that are not preempted by federal law.

Aiken Center staff members have unique confidentiality problems because the "client" in a professional relationship may be more than one person. The overriding principle is that alcohol and other drug staff members respect and protect the confidences of their client(s) and will not disclose confidential information acquired in teaching, practice, or investigation. It is the responsibility of the alcohol and other drug professional to understand and comply with all state and federal confidentiality regulations.