Confidential Confidential Client Relationships
Confidential Client Relationships
Greenville Technical College
Confidential Client Relationships Client confidentiality in the field of human services is a matter of ethics, legal obligations, and a right to privacy; therefore, a human service professional must provide a helping relationship that is conducive to providing client confidentiality. In respect to the matter of confidentiality, a human service professional must understand, acknowledge, and adhere to the privacy of his or her clients; consequently, understanding when there is an ethical or legal responsibility to breaking the rules of confidentiality. The human service field is constantly in contact with sensitive and private information; it is the responsibility …show more content…
261). Clients often involve his or her family systems in the helping relationship. While information from the family system is helpful in a productive helping relationship, boundaries are to be established at the initial meeting. A signed informed consent to disclose information should be included in the client’s permanent record. If the client has the mental capacity to make his or her own decisions, he or she can also choose which family members can access confidential information. The client has the right to revise this consent as situations change. Without approval to release information, the human service professional is liable for ethical and legal consequences. The agency, which provides services, is also bound to client …show more content…
The primary goal of HIPAA was to allow client’s ease of access to his or her own medical records in addition to providing mandated guidelines that require patient confidentiality (Woodside and McClam 2013, p. 118). HIPAA has affected the human service professional and client relationship in favorable ways. According to Joan Szabo, “the provider [of services is] required to provide written notice of their privacy practices and patients’ [or clients] rights in regards to confidential healthcare and services” (2002, p. 52). Overall, “HIPAA does create a safer, smarter healthcare environment for everyone” (Banks, 2006 p. 50). In addition to securing private information, the federal government modified Medicare and Medicaid by computerizing billing information, which leads to agencies saving money versus the complicated manual paper claims filing system, which was formerly in place (Kuczynski and Gibbs-Wahlberg, 2005, p. 283). HIPAA also considers the changing society that depends on electronic and digital
Greenville Technical College
Confidential Client Relationships Client confidentiality in the field of human services is a matter of ethics, legal obligations, and a right to privacy; therefore, a human service professional must provide a helping relationship that is conducive to providing client confidentiality. In respect to the matter of confidentiality, a human service professional must understand, acknowledge, and adhere to the privacy of his or her clients; consequently, understanding when there is an ethical or legal responsibility to breaking the rules of confidentiality. The human service field is constantly in contact with sensitive and private information; it is the responsibility …show more content…
261). Clients often involve his or her family systems in the helping relationship. While information from the family system is helpful in a productive helping relationship, boundaries are to be established at the initial meeting. A signed informed consent to disclose information should be included in the client’s permanent record. If the client has the mental capacity to make his or her own decisions, he or she can also choose which family members can access confidential information. The client has the right to revise this consent as situations change. Without approval to release information, the human service professional is liable for ethical and legal consequences. The agency, which provides services, is also bound to client …show more content…
The primary goal of HIPAA was to allow client’s ease of access to his or her own medical records in addition to providing mandated guidelines that require patient confidentiality (Woodside and McClam 2013, p. 118). HIPAA has affected the human service professional and client relationship in favorable ways. According to Joan Szabo, “the provider [of services is] required to provide written notice of their privacy practices and patients’ [or clients] rights in regards to confidential healthcare and services” (2002, p. 52). Overall, “HIPAA does create a safer, smarter healthcare environment for everyone” (Banks, 2006 p. 50). In addition to securing private information, the federal government modified Medicare and Medicaid by computerizing billing information, which leads to agencies saving money versus the complicated manual paper claims filing system, which was formerly in place (Kuczynski and Gibbs-Wahlberg, 2005, p. 283). HIPAA also considers the changing society that depends on electronic and digital