Standard 4: Privacy & Confidentiality

Question 1

4.01

Answer 1

4.01 Maintaining Confidentiality:

Psychologists have a primary obligation and take reasonable precautions to protect confidential information obtained through or stored in any medium, recognizing that the extent and limits of confidentiality may be regulated by law or established by institutional rules or professional or scientific relationship.
Avoid leaving telephone messages for clients/patients on answering machines. When such a message is unavoidable, take precautions to ensure the message does not reveal to others that the client/patient is in treatment or any other confidential information.

HIPAA:
PRIOR to beginning treatment or treatment-related assessments, HIPAA-covered entities must provide patients with a 1) Notice of Privacy Practices that describes the psychologist’s policies for use + disclosure of PHI, the clients’/patients’ rights regarding their PHI under HIPAA, and the provider’s obligations under the Privacy Rule.

Question 2

4.02

Answer 2

4.02 Discussing the Limits of Confidentiality:

(a) Psychologists discuss with persons (including, to the extent feasible, persons who are legally incapable of giving informed consent and their legal representatives) and organizations with whom they establish a scientific or professional relationship
(1) the relevant limits of confidentiality and
(2) the foreseeable uses of the information generated through their psychological activities

Question 3

4.03

Answer 3

4.03 Recording:

Before recording the voices or images of individuals to whom they provide services, psychologists obtain permission from all such persons or their legal representatives

Question 4

4.04

Answer 4

4. 04 Minimizing Intrusions on Privacy:
   (a) Psychologists include in written and oral reports and consultations, only information germane to the purpose for which the communication is made.

Implications of HIPAA: Standard 4.04 is consistent w/ HIPAA regulations regarding the minimum necessary, meaning that when disclosing PHI, reasonable efforts are made to limit the information to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purpose. This does not apply to other disclosure to another health care provider or to the client themselves…

(b) Psychologists discuss confidential information obtained in their work only for appropriate scientific or professional purposes and only with persons clearly concerned with such matters.
HIPAA Implications: Psychologists working in private practice or systems of health care are permitted to share PHI internally. The nature of information is not restricted when the disclosure is related to treatment provision. However, when disclosure is made to nontreatment personnel (e.g., billing), the minimum amount of information necessary is disclosed.

Question 5

4.05

Answer 5

4. 05 Disclosures
   (a) Psychologists may disclose confidential information with the appropriate consent of the organizational client, the individual client/patient, or another legally authorized person on behalf of the client/patient unless prohibited by law.

(b) Psychologists disclose confidential information without the consent of the individual only as mandated by law, or where permitted by law for a valid purpose such as to
(1) provide needed professional services;
(2) obtain appropriate professional consultations;
(3) protect the client/patient, psychologist, or others from harm; or
(4) obtain payment for services from a client/patient, in which instance disclosure is limited to the minimum that is necessary to achieve the purpose

Question 6

4.06

Answer 6

4.06 Consultations
When consulting with colleagues,
(1) psychologists do not disclose confidential information that reasonably could lead to the identification of a client/patient, research participant, or other person or organization with whom they have a confidential relationship unless they have obtained the prior consent of the person or organization or the disclosure cannot be avoided, and
(2) they disclose information only to the extent necessary to achieve the purposes of the consultation.

Question 7

4.07

Answer 7

4.07 Use of Confidential Information for Didactic or Other Purposes
Psychologists do not disclose in their writings, lectures, or other public media, confidential, personally identifiable information concerning their clients/patients, students, research participants, organizational clients, or other recipients of their services that they obtained during the course of their work, unless
(1) they take reasonable steps to disguise the person or organization,
(2) the person or organization has consented in writing, or (3) there is legal authorization for doing so.

Question 8

What is standard 4 and its subcomponents?

Answer 8

Standards on Privacy and Confidentiality

4. 01 Maintaining confidentiality
5. 02 Discussing the Limits of confidentiality
6. 03 recording
7. 04 minimizing intrusions on privacy
8. 05 disclosures
9. 06 consultations
10. 07 use of confidential information for didactic or other purposes