Standards 5 & 6 Flashcards
Which of the following best describes ethical requirements regarding psychologists’ use of client testimonials in brochures and other statements describing their professional services?
A. They may use only unsolicited testimonials from former and current therapy clients.
B. They may use solicited or unsolicited testimonials from former and current therapy clients as long as the clients are not compensated for them.
C. They may use solicited testimonials from former therapy clients who are not vulnerable to undue influence.
D. They may use solicited testimonials from former therapy clients as long as they do not include misleading information.
C. They may use solicited testimonials from former therapy clients who are not vulnerable to undue influence.
This answer is most consistent with the requirements of Standard 5.05 of the Ethics Code. It prohibits psychologists from soliciting testimonials from current therapy clients and from others “who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence.” Of course, psychologists would not want to use testimonials that provide misleading information (answer D) but, even if the information is accurate, they would not use solicited testimonials from former therapy clients if those clients are vulnerable to undue influence.
Routinely waiving the insurance co-payments of therapy clients is acceptable:
A. only when the insurance company has approved of this arrangement.
B. as long as it’s justified by the clients’ inability to pay the co-payment.
C. only if the insurance company is not charged an increased fee to make up for the co-payment.
D. because it’s a “standard practice.”
A. only when the insurance company has approved of this arrangement.
Routinely waiving the co-payments of clients means that the insurance company is paying 100% of the therapist’s fee for those clients, but most insurance companies agree to pay a certain percentage (e.g., 50%) of the fee. Therefore, this practice constitutes insurance fraud if the insurance company has not agreed to it and is both illegal and unethical.
Public Statements
* cover public statements about psychologists’ professional services made by themselves and others
* do not knowingly make public statements that are false, deceptive, or fraudulent
* This prohibition applies to a psychologist’s training, experience, credentials, services, fees, and so on and to a variety of statements including those made in advertisements, licensing applications, resumes, directory listings, and lectures.
* credentials ONLY for degress obtained from regionally accredited educational institution or were the basis for psychology licensure
* psychologists can use only two types of degrees as evidence of their qualifications to provide mental health services: a doctoral degree in psychology from an accredited educational institution or a degree from a nonaccredited educational institution for a program that has been approved by the state as qualifying psychologists for licensure.
* social media [their statements must be] based on their professional knowledge, training, or experience.” In addition, psychologists must not indicate that an interaction with an individual via the media establishes a professional relationship.
Client Testimonials
* prohibits solicitating testimonials form current therapy clients or others who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence
In-Person Solicitation of Business
prohibits psychologists from engaging “in uninvited in-person solicitation of business from actual or potential therapy clients/patients or other persons who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence.” It excludes from this prohibition encouraging family members or others to participate in therapy to benefit a current therapy client and providing disaster relief or community outreach services.
Record Keeping & Fees: Maintaining, Disseminating, & Disposing of Records
* to facilitate the transfer of services, to ensure the accuracy of billing, and to comply with legal and institutional requirements
* Forensic records held to a higher standard - forensic records are usually more detailed than clinical records are and should include all notes and materials that were used to form an opinion. In addition, forensic psychologists should keep in mind that “with the exception of relevant client/patient privilege, the entirety of the psychologist’s records created or used in a case is subject to discovery”
Record Keeping & Fees: Maintaining Confidentiality
* Techniques for protecting client confidentiality and privacy when using digital technologies include encrypting all client records and communications, using HIPAA-compliant cloud providers, using two-factor authentication, working with air-gapped computers (computers that are separated from networked data and internet access), and including information on risks associated with digital data storage and communication in informed consent discussions and documents
* plans for transferring client records and maintaining their confidentiality in the event of planned or unplanned withdrawal from practice. Methods: having a professional will, having an arrangement with a responsible colleague or professional association to manage the records, and instructing a spouse or executor on how to seek advice for the management of records
* minimum duration of time for maintaining professional records: in the absence of a superseding legal or institutional requirement, psychologists “consider retaining full records until 7 years after the last date of service delivery for adults or until 3 years after a minor reaches the age of majority, whichever is later.” It also states that psychologists may want to retain records for a longer period, depending on the situation and the pros and cons of doing so
Record Keeping & Fees: Financial Arrangements
* discussing fees for therapy sessions, billing and payment schedules, charges for missed appointments, issues related to third-party payors, and the policy for unpaid fees.
* psychologists may use collection agencies and other legal measures to collect unpaid fees but “must first inform the person that such measures will be taken and provide that person an opportunity to make prompt payment.”
* Providing the first therapy session for free to new clients is also not addressed in the Ethics Code, and there’s no clear consensus about the acceptability of doing so. There’s some agreement, however, that it’s acceptable when special precautions are taken, including making sure the person understands the limited purpose of the first session (e.g., to help the person decide if he/she wants to work with the therapist) and is made aware of the fee for future sessions before attending the first session
Record Keeping & Fees: Specific Financial Concerns & Arrangements
* prohibits psychologists from withholding client records when they’re needed for a client’s emergency treatment solely because the client has unpaid fees.
* Note that this prohibition applies to treatment and not to education, assessment, and other professional activities.
* Also note that withholding client records for nonpayment of fees in any situation may be illegal or inconsistent with institutional regulations.
Record Keeping & Fees: Bartering
* barter may be acceptable when it’s not clinically contraindicated or exploitative. Many experts discourage bartering because of its potential for negative consequences, and some suggest that bartering goods for therapy is less risky than bartering services
Record Keeping & Fees: 3rd Party Payors
* it would be unethical and illegal to assign a client an inaccurate diagnosis in order to receive reimbursement from an insurance company, to indicate that services were provided by a psychologist when they were actually provided by the psychologist’s supervisee, to bill an insurance company for individual therapy when group or family therapy was provided, to bill an insurance company for a client’s missed appointments, or to routinely waive client co-payments without the insurance company’s agreement with this practice.
Record Keeping & Fees: Referral Fees
* fee must be “based on the services provided … [and not] on the referral itself.”
* it would be unethical for a psychologist to pay a colleague a referral fee for each client the colleague refers to him unless the fee represents the actual costs of the referral – e.g., the time the colleague spent discussing the client with the psychologist and copying and forwarding the client’s file.
* Note that this prohibition does not apply to psychology referral services, dividing fees with another professional when the psychologist and other professional both provided services to a client, or paying employees a percentage of a client’s fee
