Who has access to my test data or my child’s test data?
If adults request testing, they receive the report. If they want anyone else to receive the report (e.g., their therapist, physician , lawyer, college, etc.), they must sign a release before the report can be sent to that individual or facility. If a third party requests the evaluation (e.g., the court, the Social Security Administration, or an agency such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Goodwill Industries, etc.) and pays for it, they are presumed to own the report because they have the clients’ or claimants’ permission to have the testing done and receive the report. If clients or claimants want feedback from the testing, they will be told to contact the organization requesting the testing to receive that information.
If parents request testing for their children, the parents receive the report. If they want anyone else to receive the report (e.g., the school, therapist, physician, etc.), they can give or send the report directly to that person or organization. If they want the report faxed or sent from our office to someone else, they must sign a written release giving us permission to send the report to that party. Again, if a third party requests the evaluation with a signed release from the person being tested, that organization is presumed to own the report and that organization would be approached with any requests for information.
Copies of all evaluations, including test data, are kept at Counseling Associates for three to ten years and are then shredded. Psychological reports are not considered current after they are three years old. They need to be replaced by new reports that take into consideration recent events or changes in the person being tested. Old reports, like new reports, are not released without permission of the person requesting the testing.