Confidentiality of recovery records

We mean anything that says you are connected to Smart Step and to recovery housing — that you applied, that you live in one of our houses, and the day-to-day record that comes with the program: check-ins, drug screening results, incident and house standards reports, program fee history, and notes your house manager keeps.

The fact that you are here at all is part of it. We treat your name on our list as confidential, not just the details behind it.

Smart Step does not share your recovery records with your family, your employer, a court, a supervision officer, a recovery program, or anyone else unless you have signed a release covering that specific sharing — or unless the law requires it.

A release you sign says, in writing:

Anything outside those boundaries needs a new release. A release to one organization is not a release to another.

You can revoke a release in writing at any time — by mail to {{MAILING ADDRESS}} or by email to {{PRIVACY CONTACT EMAIL}}. You do not have to give a reason, and you do not have to use a particular form. Ask any staff member and they will help you put it in writing.

Revoking takes effect when we receive it, and it stops future sharing. Information that was already shared before then cannot be pulled back — that is the one honest limit, and we would rather say it now than surprise you later.

Some people come to Smart Step with court or supervision requirements attached. Where that is the case, and only where you have signed a release covering it, a court coordinator can see the compliance information that release covers.

When an organization refers someone to Smart Step, they are handing us another person's private information. Our referral form will not go through unless the referrer confirms, in writing and on the record, that they hold a signed and dated release from the person being referred and can produce it on request. We store that confirmation with the referral.

Someone applying for themselves is not disclosing anyone else's information and does not need a release to apply.

There are a small number of situations where the law may require us to share information even without your consent — for example a medical emergency, or a court order. The specific list that applies to Smart Step is {{MANDATORY DISCLOSURE LIST}}. We will tell you when we have had to do this, unless we are not permitted to.

We also want to be straight about a second limit: once information leaves us under a release, the organization that receives it is governed by its own rules, which may not be as protective as ours.

Federal rules give special protection to records about a person's substance use disorder care, and separate federal rules protect certain health information held by medical providers and their partners. Smart Step Inc. is a recovery residence and peer support organization. It is not a medical provider.

Exactly which of those frameworks reaches Smart Step, and in what circumstances, is a question we are working through with counsel: {{REGULATORY CLASSIFICATION — COUNSEL}}. We are not going to guess in public. What we can tell you is that our practice is the consent-first approach described on this page, and that it does not depend on how that question is answered.

If you think your information was shared when it should not have been, or you want to know what we hold and who has seen it, write to {{PRIVACY CONTACT EMAIL}} or {{MAILING ADDRESS}}. Our target for a first response is {{RESPONSE TIME}}. See also our privacy policy.