In an era of demands for greater accountability in higher education, an increasingly polarized political environment, and scandals such as that at Penn State, access to information is becoming everyone's business, affecting public and independent institutions alike. Although Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demands are often annoying or…

The confidentiality of a patient's information has been sacred since the days of Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine. Today, however, merely taking an oath to respect a patient's privacy has been overshadowed by regulations governing how certain healthcare establishments handle an individual's health information on the web. Consequently, if a…

In an era of increased need and expectation for confidentiality, the counseling record of the deceased client challenges confidentiality. Using ethical codes and legal mandates, the authors explore whether the counseling record of a deceased client should be released when the client's will and the client's counseling records are silent on this…

Until recently, there has been little guidance in the professional literature with respect to counseling minors outside of the school setting. Although most authors suggest referring to state statutes for legal limits of counseling practice, little research exists describing these requirements in Alabama. The purpose of this literature and…

The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) is a public policy strategy to improve healthcare quality and reduce accelerating health care costs. Much research has focused on medical providers' perceptions of EHRs, but little is known about those of behavioral health providers. This research was informed by the theory of reasoned…

The NHS Plan, Department of Health (2000) made a commitment that patients should be able to receive copies of clinicians' letters about them as a right in order to improve communication and enable patients to participate in their care. In South Gloucestershire, the opinions of local service users with learning disabilities, their carers, and…

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Specifically, it prohibits a school from disclosing personally identifiable information from students' education records without the consent of a parent or eligible student, unless an exception to FERPA's general consent…

Research objective. Electronic Health Records (EHR) are expected to transform the way medicine is delivered with patients/consumers being the intended beneficiaries. However, little is known regarding patient knowledge and attitudes about EHRs. This study examined patient perceptions about EHR. Study design. Surveys were administered following…

From the standpoint of a former journal editor and long-time professional, this commentary challenges the direction of the profession as demonstrated in this special section. The ongoing creation of more and more ethical constraints not only harms the profession but also loses sight of fundamental ethical principles.

Today, the decision to prepare clinical case material for publication is a decision that cannot be taken lightly. The decision involves reviewing ethical considerations and choosing among various options to safeguard client privacy. Such options include seeking the client's permission, disguising case material, and developing composite case…

The author discusses her experiences seeking consent from 16 clients to use clinical material for publication. Sharing case examples from her practice, she elucidates her process with clients and focuses on the beneficial and detrimental effects on the therapeutic relationship. Seeking consent raises issues of confidentiality and stimulates…

When, why, and how clinicians decide to write about clients are ethical concerns. There are risks and potential clinical ramifications as well as responsibilities for how these decisions are made. On the basis of 141 interviews with psychoanalysts who have published in 3 major national and international psychoanalytic journals, the author explores…

From the standpoint of a journal editor and researcher, this commentary critically reflects on some of the primary notions addressed in the 4 featured articles of the special section, discussing areas of agreement and divergence. As a way of further exploring these ethical and professional concerns, the contentious issue of using school children…

Ethical guidelines of the 4 major professional associations representing counselors and psychotherapists are reviewed. To help clarify thinking about writing up clinical cases, 3 kinds of cases are described. The author concludes that the current guidelines for clinician authors in writing about clients for publication or presentation are…

Laws of the 12 states which permit access to records of adoption proceedings without a court order are summarized. Statutes on access to adoption records for all 50 states are presented in tabular form and two recent court cases concerning adoption record access are described. (JMB)