Confidentiality Laws
This federal law, passed in 1996, protects patient health information and mandates data privacy for healthcare providers.
What is HIPAA?
Clients can exercise this right, meaning they can end therapy at any time, even if the therapist disagrees.
What is the right to terminate treatment?
According to the AAMFT Code of Ethics, therapists must obtain this from clients before disclosing confidential information to third parties, except when legally required to break confidentiality.
What is informed consent?
This ethical duty requires therapists to keep client information private and only share it with consent or as required by law.
What is confidentiality?
This legal document, often issued by a court, compels a therapist to provide client records or testify in a legal proceeding, potentially impacting client confidentiality.
What is a subpoena?
Known by its initials, FERPA, this U.S. federal law protects the privacy of student education records.
What is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act?
Clients are entitled to this right, meaning they should be treated with respect, free from discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or other factors.
What is the right to non-discriminatory treatment?
The AAMFT Code of Ethics requires therapists to take reasonable steps to protect client information, including using secure storage methods for this type of sensitive client data.
What are client records?
Therapists must obtain this type of permission from clients before beginning treatment, ensuring clients understand the treatment process and potential risks.
What is informed consent?
Name of the professor of this course
This 1974 U.S. federal law limits the ways personal information can be collected, used, and shared by federal agencies, protecting individuals' privacy rights.
What is the Privacy Act?
This right allows clients to review their therapy records and request corrections, ensuring transparency and accuracy.
What is the right to access their records?
The AAMFT Code of Ethics allows therapists to break confidentiality to prevent harm if a client poses an imminent risk to themselves or others, a responsibility known by this term.
What is the duty to protect or duty to warn?
Depending on the state, the therapist may have an obligation to warn an intended victim
What is duty to warn?
A legal case that has shaped the way therapists think about client rights, especially regarding confidentiality and the duty to protect
What is the Tarasoff case?
This 2009 law was enacted to promote the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) while strengthening HIPAA’s privacy and security protections for patient information.
What is the HITECH Act?
The names of the four types of rights clients are entitled to
What are civil rights, legal rights, ethical rights, and human rights?
Under the AAMFT Code, therapists must protect client confidentiality even after this event occurs, ensuring privacy beyond the therapeutic relationship.
What is the termination of therapy or death of the client?
This ethical and legal obligation requires therapists to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to their client
What is the duty to protect?
Rights outlined by the AAMFT code of ethics to ensure professional conduct
What are ethical rights?
This component of HIPAA sets standards to protect electronic personal health information by requiring safeguards like encryption and access controls.
What is the security rule?
If a client wants to cancel a subpoena or issue a protective order limiting the subpoena, they may request the court to
What is a quash?
To uphold confidentiality in digital settings, the AAMFT Code advises therapists to use these methods, such as encryption, to secure electronic communications and client records.
What are digital security measures or safeguards?
This ethical principle requires therapists to act in their clients’ best interests, keeping their welfare at the forefront of all treatment decisions.
What is beneficence?
This 2013 act expanded HIPAA’s privacy and security protections, increased penalties for non-compliance, and included new provisions for handling patient health information in electronic form.
What is the Omnibus Rule?