Is a PHP Evaluation Confidential in Georgia?
Licensed professionals often raise confidentiality as one of their most urgent concerns before a PHP evaluation. The fear is understandable: will my employer find out? Will my colleagues know? Will this appear on my public license record?
The honest answer is nuanced, and understanding it clearly before you begin protects you far better than avoiding the process out of uncertainty.
For a full overview of how PHP works in Georgia, start with our Complete Guide to Professional Health Programs in Georgia.
What Is Protected: Core Privacy Principles
AACS Atlanta conducts PHP evaluations in accordance with applicable federal and state privacy requirements.
- HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): A SAP evaluation assesses safety-sensitive employees under the federal requirements of 49 CFR Part 40. Georgia law requires individuals charged with DUI to undergo a DUI evaluation under applicable state law. AACS Atlanta does not release evaluation records without your written authorization, with the specific exceptions described below.
- 42 CFR Part 2 (Federal Substance Use Confidentiality): For evaluations involving substance use disorders, federal regulations under 42 CFR Part 2 provide additional confidentiality protections beyond standard HIPAA requirements. These regulations restrict disclosure of substance use treatment records even to other healthcare providers, law enforcement, and employers without specific written consent.
- Georgia State Privacy Law: Georgia law provides additional protections for mental health and substance use treatment records. O.C.G.A. § 37-3-166 restricts disclosure of mental health records without patient authorization.
What Gets Disclosed and to Whom
Confidentiality in PHP has limits. Understanding those limits in advance prevents surprises.
Licensing board disclosure. If the board referred you for an evaluation, AACS Atlanta submits the written clinical report to the referring board with your authorization. You sign a release before the evaluation begins, specifying exactly who receives the report. The report goes to the board, not to your employer, hospital, or colleagues.
Monitoring program disclosure. If your evaluation recommends treatment or monitoring, AACS Atlanta coordinates with your designated monitoring program. Monitoring programs operate under strict confidentiality agreements with your licensing board.
Employer notification when it applies. Some monitoring agreements require worksite monitoring, meaning a designated supervisor at your workplace submits compliance reports to the monitoring program. This is not universal. It depends on your board, your profession, and the specific terms of your monitoring agreement. Your AACS Atlanta clinician will walk you through what your agreement requires before you begin.
Mandatory reporting exceptions. Like all clinical providers, AACS Atlanta is subject to mandatory reporting requirements in specific circumstances:
- Imminent risk of harm to self or others
- Abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult
- Court orders requiring disclosure
These exceptions are narrow and apply in the same circumstances as any clinical provider.
Voluntary Self-Referral: Strongest Confidentiality Protection
Georgia’s PHP system offers its strongest confidentiality protections to professionals who refer themselves before anyone files a formal complaint.
When no formal board complaint exists:
- No mandatory report to the licensing board is required simply because an evaluation occurred
- The professional controls what information is shared and with whom
- No public disciplinary record is created
- Employer notification is typically not required
Voluntary self-referral before any formal complaint is the single most effective way to protect confidentiality while addressing a clinical concern.
Does PHP Participation Appear on Your Public License Record?
For most professions in Georgia, voluntary PHP participation does not appear on your public license record, provided you engage before a formal complaint and remain compliant.
Formal disciplinary actions, including license suspension, revocation, or public censure, are public record in Georgia. These result from non-compliance, not from PHP participation itself.
The distinction is critical: entering PHP is confidential; being disciplined for refusing PHP is not.
Georgia’s licensing boards, including the Georgia Composite Medical Board, have built the PHP framework specifically to give professionals a non-public path to addressing impairment. Using it as intended keeps your record clean.
PHP Confidentiality by Profession in Georgia
- Physicians (Georgia Composite Medical Board): The Georgia Composite Medical Board does not publicly disclose voluntary PHP participation. Formal disciplinary actions resulting from non-compliance are published on the board’s public license lookup. Monitoring agreements themselves are not public.
- Nurses (Georgia Board of Nursing): The Georgia Board of Nursing keeps its alternative-to-discipline program non-public for participants who comply with its requirements. However, the Board may list license restrictions on public records when participants fail to comply.
- Pharmacists (Georgia State Board of Pharmacy): Voluntary PHP participation through the Georgia pharmacy monitoring program is generally confidential. Disciplinary actions are public.
- Attorneys (State Bar of Georgia): The State Bar of Georgia’s Lawyer Assistance Program operates under strict confidentiality. Formal bar discipline is public record; voluntary participation in assistance programs is not.
Frequently Asked Questions: PHP Confidentiality Georgia
Can AACS Atlanta share my evaluation results with my hospital credentialing committee?
No, not without your written authorization. Credentialing committees are not licensing boards. A separate release would be required for any disclosure to a hospital or employer.
If I self-refer and complete PHP successfully, will any record exist?
AACS Atlanta maintains clinical records as required by law.Healthcare providers protect these records as health information and do not share them without your authorization. Voluntary participation in the PHP does not create a public licensing record.
What if my monitoring agreement requires employer notification, and I do not want my employer to know?
If employer notification is a monitoring requirement, it is a condition you agreed to as part of the monitoring agreement. Refusing employer notification after agreeing to it is a compliance violation. Federal regulations under 49 CFR Part 40 require employers to obtain a SAP evaluation for safety-sensitive employees who violate DOT drug and alcohol regulations. Georgia law requires a DUI evaluation for individuals charged with DUI under Georgia law.
Does PHP confidentiality apply if I am arrested for a DUI?
A DUI arrest is a public criminal record that is separate from PHP confidentiality. However, healthcare providers must still protect the clinical PHP evaluation related to the DUI as protected health information. Different rules govern arrest records and clinical evaluation records.
Schedule a Confidential PHP Evaluation
AACS Atlanta provides confidential PHP evaluations for licensed professionals across Georgia. All evaluations are conducted under HIPAA and applicable state privacy protections. Same-day appointments available. Telehealth accepted.
