Payment for services With regard to payment for services, it is most helpful to refer to your particular professional association’s financial arrangement ethical standards. Professional association ethical guidelines, in general, call for fair and reasonable fees for services, prohibition or no prohibition of solicitation of fees for services entitled and rendered through the workers’ employer, and avoidance of bartering arrangements. Other guidelines include no acceptance Interruption of services and termination Mental health practitioners should demonstrate reasonable efforts for continuity of services when services must be interrupted or terminated. Interruptions may come from practitioner’s or client’s vacation or illness. There may be a loss of funding for the service. The typical reasons termination occurs is when the client and practitioner agree that the: ● Goals of treatment or service have been met. ● Client can no longer benefit from treatment/service. ● Client will be referred to another professional or service. Other reasons include a client’s failure to make adequate progress toward treatment goals or failure to comply with treatment recommendations, therapist retirement, discovery of a hitherto unrecognized conflict of interest, or client noncompliance or a client ceasing to communicate (Felton, 2015). In the case of termination for nonpayment of agreed-upon fees, there are criteria to be met (Felton, 2015): ● The fee arrangements have been made clear to the client. ● The client poses no imminent danger to himself or herself or others. ● The consequences, including the clinical consequences, of nonpayment have been discussed with the client. Administration Mental health administrators should advocate within and outside their agencies for adequate resources, open and fair allocation procedures, and a work environment that is not only consistent with but encourages compliance with Billing Practitioners need to establish and maintain accurate billing practices that clearly identify the provider of services. Many agencies, associations and boards include these Client transfer Mental health practitioners should consider the needs and best interests of clients being served by other professionals or agencies before agreeing to provide services, and discuss with the client the appropriateness of consulting with the Client records Maintaining records of service and storing them is not always easy. Aside from the potential negative legal fallout of not doing so, there are good reasons for keeping records including: ● Assisting both the practitioner and client in monitoring service progress and effectiveness. ● Ensuring continuity of care should the client transfer to another worker or service. ● Assisting clients in qualifying for benefits and other services. ● Ensuring continuity of care should the client return.
or offering of kickbacks, rebates, bonuses, or other remuneration for referrals. Clear disclosure and explanation of financial arrangements, reasonable notice to clients for intention to seek payment collection, third-party payor fact disclosure, and no withholding of records because payment has not been received for past services, except otherwise provided by law, are also examples of ethical financial guidelines. In any case, if the client is in crisis, termination should be delayed, and it is vitally important to avoid abandonment of a client, for both legal and ethical reasons. Felton (2015) offers the following termination tips: ● Start preparing for termination and discuss termination with the client early on so that the process can be discussed during several sessions. ● If referring, offer at least three detailed referrals, and, if the client consents, assist in the transition. ● If possible, conduct the final session in person, and not electronically. ● Be certain that the client understands why and how therapy is being terminated. ● Document termination discussions. ● Send the client a personalized termination letter. Do not use a form letter. When a referral is made, the referring clinician is obligated to determine the appropriateness of the referral, including the abilities of the receiving professional or agency, and should follow up on the client’s progress wherever possible and permitted. Finally, mental health practitioners should continue to refer to their professional association’s ethical code guidelines and state laws regarding a related issue: the disposition of client records upon termination, referral, or practice closure.
ETHICS IN PRACTICE SETTINGS
ethical standards of practice. Ethical standards of practice should be included with materials given to new workers and emphasized during staff hiring. And some form of ethics language should be included with a mission statement.
expectations in their own values and codes of ethics, commonly under the category of stewardship.
previous service provider. Informed consent is an important aspect of this issue, in that a practitioner must discuss all implications, including possible benefits and risks, of entering into a relationship with a new provider. To facilitate the delivery and continuity of services, the practitioner, with respect to documentation and client records, must ensure that: ● Records are accurate and reflect the services provided. ● Documentation is sufficient and completed in a timely manner. ● Documentation reflects only information relevant to service delivery. ● Client privacy is maintained to the extent possible and appropriate. ● Records are stored for a sufficient period after termination.
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Book Code: SWNY1224
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