HIV/STD/Hepatitis Program Client Confidentiality
We at the health department value client confidentiality and recognize the importance of health information privacy, particularly when it comes to HIV services. No client should fear that their behavioral risk information, which may include socially stigmatized activities (e.g.: sex, drug use), will be shared with anyone other than authorized individuals with reasonable need to know. Neither should a client feel the need to withhold information for fear of the legal liability that could result from unauthorized disclosure of their behavioral risk info.
It is essential that clients feel confident that any data collected about them is treated in an appropriate manner. Trust in our systems of care and support is essential if people living with HIV, or at high risk for HIV infection, are to get the most out of the programs designed to help them be as healthy as they can be.
The HIV/STD/Hepatitis (HSH) Program’s confidentiality and data training for our community partner organizations that deliver HIV testing, care and prevention services covers a range of topics including:
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How client data is collected, stored, transported and submitted to the HSH Program in ways that protect privacy.
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Action steps for service providers that help protect client data.
HSH Program grantee staff and volunteers, who handle sensitive client health information as part of their work, must complete the following Confidentiality Training and pass a written assessment. Finally, staff and volunteers who handle health information must review and sign a secure user confidentiality statement, committing themselves to protecting client confidentiality. These steps are completed before handling client data. The HSH Program requires that these steps are completed on an annual basis.
Confidentiality Training For HIV Services Staff and Volunteers
The following training and related resources are for people who deliver services at community partner organizations funded by our HIV/STD/Hepatitis (HSH) Program.
If you have a role in the delivery of such HIV prevention, testing, or support services in Vermont, you must complete our Confidentiality and Security training.
The training is required at the start of your tenure before you handle or access client data. Thereafter, you are expected to complete this training annually, within the first quarter (Jan.-Mar.) of each calendar year. Check with your supervisor or team leader before proceeding.
