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More About This Title The Portable Lawyer for Mental Health Professionals: An A-Z Guide to Protecting Your Clients, Your Practice, and Yourself, Third Edition
English
Everything you need to legally safeguard your mental health practice
Fully revised, The Portable Lawyer for Mental Health Professionals, Third Edition identifies, explores, and presents solutions to both the simple and complex legal questions that mental health practices must deal with daily. Written by Thomas Hartsell Jr. and Barton Bernstein—attorneys and therapists specializing in legal issues concerning mental health—this essential guide arms professionals with the expert knowledge needed to avoid a legal violation, or to know how to handle a situation if a complaint is filed.
With downloadable sample forms and contracts—including the new Informed Consent for Psychological Testing and Professional Limited Liability Member Agreement forms—this complete resource features step-by-step guidance, helpful case studies, and "legal light bulbs" to alert clinicians to warning signs and help them steer clear of legally questionable situations.
New to the Third Edition:
- Coverage of how to conduct business in a digital world, including how to handle confidentiality issues surrounding electronic health records and cloud computing, distance therapy, and maintaining a professional client-therapist relationship in a Facebook world
- Vital information on a variety of associations' ethics guidelines
- A look at the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
- Considerations for using or not using evidence-based treatments
- New information on working with minors and dealing with homicidal clients
Convenient and comprehensive, The Portable Lawyer for Mental Health Professionals, Third Edition is the quick-reference resource that mental health professionals, graduate students, attorneys, and clients alike can rely on to make informed legal decisions.
English
THOMAS L. HARTSELL Jr., JD, is an attorney and mediator in private practice in Dallas, Texas. He is a frequent workshop presenter on topics related to ethics, managed care, confidentiality, informed consent, abuse allegations, and other legal aspects of mental health practice.
BARTON E. BERNSTEIN, JD, LMSW, is an attorney in private practice in Dallas, Texas, and a Licensed Master Social Worker. He conducts workshops and seminars throughout the United States.
English
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
SECTION ONE CLINICAL RECORDS: PROTECTED OR NOT
1 Clinical Notes 3
2 Consent to Disclosure Forms 11
3 Correcting Errors 19
4 Discharge or Termination 26
5 Electronic Records 34
6 Intake and Consent Forms 43
7 Maintaining Records 66
8 Treatment Plans and Client Access to Records 77
SECTION TWO CONFIDENTIALITY
9 Couples, Family, and Group Therapy 95
10 Insider Information 102
11 Third-Party Payers 108
SECTION THREE CONTRACTS
12 Capitation Agreements 119
13 ‘‘Gag Rules’’ 126
14 Office Leases 134
SECTION FOUR FEES
15 Setting Fees 145
16 Sliding Fee Scales 152
17 Recovering Unpaid Fees 159
SECTION FIVE FORENSIC ISSUES
18 Abuse Allegations 169
19 Child Custody and Consent-to-Treat Issues 177
20 Children as Witnesses 186
21 Expert Witness 193
22 Forensic Evaluation 205
23 Involuntary Commitment 213
24 Threats of Violence 220
SECTION SIX PRACTICE MODELS
25 Groups 233
26 Partnerships 240
27 Solo Practitioner: Incorporate or Not? 247
SECTION SEVEN HOW TO AVOID MALPRACTICE CHARGES
28 Acts of Commission 261
29 Acts of Omission 270
30 What to Do If You Are Sued 281
SECTION EIGHT MANAGED CARE
31 Confidentiality Issues 289
32 Duty to Appeal 298
SECTION NINE TEAMWORK
33 Legal Aspects of Delegating 307
34 Supervisor/Supervisee Responsibilities 311
SECTION TEN UNUSUAL PRACTICES
35 Geriatric Clients 321
36 Nontraditional and Exotic Therapies 329
37 Internet Therapy 336
38 Social Media 351
SECTION ELEVEN FEDERAL REGULATIONS, HIPAA, AND HITECH
39 HIPAA Overview 359
40 HIPAA Privacy Rule 361
41 Personal Representatives (45 CFR 164.502(g)) 376
42 Business Associates (45 CFR 164.502(a)(1–4), 164.502(e), 164.504(e), 164.532(d) and (e)) 382
43 Uses and Disclosures for Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations (45 CFR 164.506) 390
44 Disclosures for Public Health Activities andWorkers’ Compensation 398
45 Marketing and Research (Accounting for Disclosures) 404
46 Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information (45 CFR 164.520) 413
47 Restrictions on Government Access to Health Information (45 CFR Part 160, Subpart C; 164.512(f)) 418
48 HIPAA Security Rule 422
49 The HITECH Act (42 U.S.C. Chapter 156) 439
APPENDIX A Bylaws for an IPA 447
APPENDIX B Partnership Agreement 461
APPENDIX C Articles of Incorporation: Professional Corporation 465
APPENDIX D Articles of Incorporation: General Corporation 469
APPENDIX E Certificate of Formation of a Professional Limited Liability Company 473
APPENDIX F Professional Limited Liability Company Member Agreement 475
APPENDIX G Sample Business Associate Contract 481
APPENDIX H Business AssociateContract (Attorney Services) 490
APPENDIX I Authorization for the Use and Disclosure of Protected Health Information 498
APPENDIX J Client Information Amendment Form 499
APPENDIX K Notice of Privacy Practices of Susan A. Jones, LPC 501
APPENDIX L Accounting of Disclosures of Protected Health Information 506
APPENDIX M Request for Accounting of Protected Health Information Disclosures 507
APPENDIX N Authorization Revocation Form 508
References and Reading Materials 509
Author Index 513
Subject Index 515
Sample Forms
CLIENT FORMS
Client Termination Letter 31
Client Information and Consent 56
Informed Consent Form: Psychological Testing 86
HIPAA FORMS
Fax/E-Mail Confidentiality Clause 373
Fax Audit 374
Business Associate Contract (Billing Services) 481
Business Associate Contract (Attorney Services) 490
Authorization for the Use and Disclosure of Protected Health Information 498
Client Information Amendment Form 499
Notice of Privacy Practices of Susan A. Jones, LPC 501
Accounting of Disclosures of Protected Health Information 506
Request for Accounting of Protected Health Information Disclosures 507
Authorization Revocation Form 508
CONSENT FORMS
Consent to Therapist-to-Therapist Disclosure of Client Records/Information 14
Single File for Joint Sessions 101
Consent for Release of Information Upon Insurance Assignment 114
Consent for Release of Information to Insurance Company 115
Consent to Disclosure of Confidential Information to Managed Care Company 296
Specific Consent to Animal-Assisted Therapy 334
Specific Client Information and Consent Clauses for Distance Therapy 348
WAIVER FORMS
Parental Waiver of Right to Child’s Records 64
Client Waiver of Full Disclosure Clause 85
Agreement Not to Seek Testimony 203
MISCELLANEOUS FORMS
Group Confidentiality 100
Application for Limited Liability Partnership 246
Articles of Organization of Limited Liability Company 255
Ethical Standards in Managed Care 299
Social Media/Website Therapy Disclaimer 355
Bylaws for an IPA 447
Partnership Agreement 461
Articles of Incorporation: Professional Corporation 465
Articles of Incorporation: General Corporation 469
Certificate of Formation of a Professional Limited Liability Company 473
Professional Limited Liability Company Member Agreement 475
