Your Privacy Matters
Orchard Valley Counselling Services (OVCS) in Kelowna and Area are committed to protecting your personal information as follows:
1. We are responsible for your personal information. OVCS is responsible for the information which is gathered during the time you access our services. OVCS has specific policies to protect confidential information and through our professional association we have protocols that we must follow. Also, we adhere strictly to HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which dictates how we protect your health care information.
2. We collect this information for precise reasons. OVCS documentation information is utilized in order to be able to provide you with services, and to evaluate, manage and plan our services.
3. We ask you for your agreement before collecting, using and sharing your personal information. Each client, or his/her authorized representative will have to consent to our collecting and documenting personal information.
4. We will limit the amount of information collected to what is essential to provide service.
5. We use personal information only to provide the services you have agreed to. OVCS will not use the personal information concerning you, other than for the service we provide, for the evaluation or the management or the planning of services, unless you give agreement for other uses.
6. We take your confidentiality and privacy seriously, to protect your personal information. OVCS are dedicated to protecting the information concerning you to ensure your confidentiality, unless we are obligated by law to disclose information. You will always be notified if we have to disclose information due to legal requirements.
7. You can ask us questions about our policies and our practices regarding protection of your information held at OVCS Main Office in West Kelowna. At your request, a member of our office staff can provide you information about our policies and practices for managing personal information.
8. You have the right to know the nature of the personal information we hold. You can view your files if you wish.
A request is sent to our Director/Clinical Supervisor prior to your review. And you may review your counselling file in the presence of an authorized staff member, determined by us. You may be asked to complete a form prior to gaining access to this file.
9. If you have questions or concerns, or want more information about how your personal information has been collected or used, or if you want to make a complaint, you can contact Orchard Valley Counselling Service’s Privacy Officer at 250.801.5226.
