____________________________________________ Professional Ethics and Law in California, 2nd Edition
• Improvements in population health • Acquisition of data on health systems
• They should avoid accepting supervisees when there has been a prior or an existing relationship that might compromise the supervisor’s objectivity. • They should take measures to ensure that the supervisee’s work is professional. • They should not provide therapy to current students or supervisees. Supervisors should consult their particular professional association guidelines regarding supervision, human resource policy, and other applicable resources. Effective and ethical supervisory practices benefit not only the supervisees and their clients but the supervisor as well. Supervisors can manage their vicarious liability in several ways, though: • Clearly defined policies and expectations • Awareness of high-risk areas • Provision of appropriate training and supervision • Understanding supervisee strengths and weaknesses as practitioners • Developing an adequate feedback system • Supervisors knowing their own responsibilities EDUCATION AND TRAINING Mental health practitioners who function as educators, field instructors, or trainers are obligated to provide instruction only within their areas of knowledge and competence, evaluate student performance fairly and respectfully, and take reason- able steps to ensure that clients are informed when services are provided by students. As mentioned in the previous subsec- tion, professionals functioning as educators or field instructors must not engage in dual or multiple relationships and should set clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries. Mental health administrators and supervisors should also take reasonable steps to provide for the continuing education and personal development of their staff. COMMITMENT TO EMPLOYERS Several standards that address issues around loyalty and ethical responsibilities in one’s capacity as an employee are formally or informally discussed in professional association ethical guidelines. Generally, mental health practitioners should do the following: • Adhere to commitments made to employers . • Work to improve employing agencies’ policies, procedures, and effectiveness of service delivery . • Take reasonable steps to educate employers about mental health workers’ ethical obligations . • Ensure that the employing organization’s practices do not interfere with one’s ability to practice consistent with one’s mental health association professional ethical guidelines .
The HITECH Act also added strength to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules (HIPAA Journal, 2018), clearing up confusion about protecting health information. Some ways that HITECH strengthened HIPAA included making business associates of HIPAA-covered entities accountable for HIPAA violations, increasing the penalties for HIPAA violations, and enabling clients or patients to obtain their own health records. This act also required that clients and patients be notified if their health information was exposed in a security breach. Although the HITECH Act does not offer incentives to behavioral health professionals, it represents the future of healthcare privacy regulations, and some states are already expecting all providers to switch to electronic record keeping (Boyd, 2020). SUPERVISION AND CONSULTATION Mental health supervision and management generally include three primary aspects of the supervisory role (Kadushin & Harkness, 2014): 1. Administration 2. Support 3. Education While the supervisor of mental health work is forced to be increasingly involved in the administrative and political realm, supervision, coaching, mentoring, and consultation remain key roles. Mental health practitioners need to be keenly aware of the role of a supervisor, because he or she is responsible for both the actions and omissions of a supervisee. This is called “vicarious liability.” To provide competent supervision, supervisors—particu- larly those in clinical settings—should remember the following: • They need to possess the necessary knowledge and skill and work only within their area of competence. • They must set clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries that would include confidentiality, sexual appropriateness, and respect for other sensitive boundaries outlined earlier in this training. • They should not engage in dual or multiple relationships with supervisees when there is risk of exploitation or potential harm. • They should fairly and respectfully evaluate supervisee performance.
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