SHS Policies

Patient Rules, Rights and Responsibilities

The most effective health care involves a cooperative relationship in which patients are seen as integral partners with the healthcare team. For this relationship to work, patients should understand that they have both rights and responsibilities. The following is an outline of these rights and responsibilities, intended to help our patients become more effective health care consumers, both here at Student Health Services (SHS) and in the general healthcare community.

If you believe that your patient rights have been violated in any way at SHS, we encourage you to exercise your responsibility to inform someone who can address your concerns. Please contact the Medical Director or the SHS Office Manager at (973) 972-8219 if you have any concerns about your service and/or treatment.

We hope that you will ask any question you have—whether it is about the content of this document, your healthcare concerns, or Student Health Services—with the confidence that you will receive a satisfactory response. We look forward to helping you become an empowered health care consumer.

Confidentiality and Privacy

We want everyone to feel comfortable seeking the care needed without worrying about privacy issues. All medical care at Student Health Services (SHS) at Rutgers Health Sciences Campus at Newark is confidential. Our staff members have a legal and ethical obligation to protect your privacy. Federal and state confidentiality practices maintain strict security controls over patient health information.

Health Records

Every time a healthcare provider at SHS has an encounter with you, during an appointment, on the telephone, or through email, the information collected is documented in your electronic health record.

Health records are completely separate from all other records, including academic records.Your health information cannot be released to anyone, including parents or any other part of the university community (i.e., faculty, staff, etc.), without your written consent. Exceptions include regulatory audits, when required by law, or when necessary in our judgment to protect you or others from a serious threat to health and safety.

If you wish to receive a copy of your health records or to disclose health information to others, a request for this release must be made in writing. This request can be can be made electronically, at the front desk, or you can use the Authorization to Disclose Protected Health Information Form.

For a full description of how health information about you may be used or disclosed, please see the Notice of Privacy Practices.

Electronic Communication

To help ensure privacy, patients are cautioned against sending sensitive, detailed personal information to SHS via non-secure email. Patients who wish to communicate with their providers via email are encouraged to use the secure messaging system available through the Patient Portal, https://patient-rbhs.medicatconnect.com, which allows communication directly within the healthcare system between the patient and the provider.