Electronic and Social Media Policies and Consent

We the staff of the Elemental Center acknowledge the importance and value of the use of social and electronic media to supplement and enhance mental health treatment. For our patients’ benefit, we have developed the Elemental Center website (found at www.elementalcenter.com) to provide helpful information regarding our office, providers, intake and payment procedures, as well as psychoeducational articles and videos regarding common mental health conditions and questions. Additionally, the Elemental Center is now on both Facebook and Twitter, where patients can get up to date information regarding office closings, new services and providers, and basic mental health information as requested. However, please note that providers and office staff of the Elemental Center are not able to interact with patient via their personal webpages, blogs, Facebook, or Twitter accounts due to confidentiality clauses and professional boundaries.

Additionally, social and electronic media is a useful tool to communicate with your provider regarding treatment questions, emotional/behavioral updates, and medication concerns. In some cases, when appropriate, face to face treatment can now be conducted through telepsychiatry electronic mediums such as Skype, allowing face to face interaction between patient and provider when circumstances make an office visit difficult.

We here at the Elemental Center hold your privacy and confidentiality in highest regards, and thus hold true to all legal and ethical principles of confidentiality while utilizing social and electronic media. However, we do recognize that the nature of internet based communications may carry some degree of risk in terms of third party interception of communication, and ask that our patients remain aware of this potential when making the decision to communicate electronically. Also, please note that all communications via social and electronic media are subject to become part of the patient’s clinical record, at the discretion of the provider