When entering rehab, you will surely have a number of concerns. After all, you will be entering a whole new world that is designed to help you recover from an insidious addiction disease. One of the things you might be leery about is the amount of privacy you will get from the actual rehab facility. Of course, you are entitled to privacy.
The only circumstances in which your privacy might be compromised is if you enter treatment with an obligation to report to the courts. You might be required to report to the court system because of a DUI or involvement in criminal activity that involved the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Otherwise, you have an absolute right to privacy. With that in mind, you might be wondering if you would get a higher level of privacy from a private treatment facility as opposed to a public access addiction treatment facility. The answer to this kind of question is complicated.
For the most part, your addiction treatment is only your business. In almost every case, the applicable addiction treatment center will only disclose information about your treatment to whom you may choose and when you may choose with your written consent.
Otherwise, everything is generally kept confidential. In fact, your right to privacy is protected by law in most states. As far as when things might be disclosed about your treatment without your permission, there are several instances where that could happen. The following list would be the most common reasons for the rehab center to violate your right to privacy:
- If you were to disclose the committing of a violent crime that is still open to arrest and prosecution
- Under the direct orders of a sitting federal, state, or local judge
- If you were to become involved in any kind of a medical emergency
- If you were to actually commit a crime while in the rehab facility
- If the rehab facility were to believe that disclosing your treatment information could save you or one of your loved ones from direct harm
Rest assured, the administrators in your rehab facility will be very cautious with your privacy. They understand where the fine lines lay and will do whatever they can to protect your privacy.
Reasons Why Privacy Might Be Important
Each client has a different reason for wanting privacy. Some clients even go as far as to select a rehab that assures a certain level of privacy. The titled question is indeed very interesting. The answer is yes, private addiction treatment centers do tend to offer higher levels of privacy. There are even cases where rehab centers will use the offer of privacy as a marketing tool to attract a certain clientele.
For instance, there are a number of luxury rehab treatment centers that like to market to celebrities and high-profile business people. For reasons that probably don’t need explanation, the need high profile people have for security and privacy is something for which they are often willing to pay. For the average man, woman, or child, the need for privacy doesn’t normally rise to that level. So, why do people want privacy when they go into rehab? Here are a few common reasons:
- Discovery of addiction problem by an employer or potential employers could potentially lead to the loss of employment or employment opportunity
- Legal proceedings involving the client could lead to an unfavorable outcome (divorce proceedings, child custody disputes)
- To save embarrassment in front of family and friends
It’s all very personal to each client, and rehab facilities are obligated to honor the right to privacy. If and when you enter treatment, you will need to be very specific in writing should you want certain people to have access to your treatment information. Wanting a family member to know how you are progressing would be a prime example of a reason why you might want to share such disclosures. Knowing you have a right to privacy should remove that concern from your list of reasons to not get treatment.
If you have an addiction issue, you need to be more concerned about getting the treatment you need. That is definitely something that we can provide for you if you give us the opportunity. If we can assist you in any way regarding your addiction, please do not hesitate to give us a call as soon as possible at 844-639-8371.