Ethics & Risk Management: Expert Tips 10 is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE) course that addresses a variety of ethics and risk management topics, in the form of select articles written by experts in the field for The National Psychologist. Topics include:

• What Happens Next? Confidentiality after Death - Considers the legal and ethical issues of sharing confidential client records after a patient’s death.
• Out-of-Office Encounters May Be Beneficial - Discusses the importance and benefits of out-of-office therapy sessions and encounters with clients.
• Court Cases, Market Forces - An overview of court cases that highlight the ways in which regulatory boards may be at risk for an FTC complaint or federal suit.
• Closing Practice Not for Faint of Heart - Describes the emotional toll that closing a private practice may have on clinicians and offers practical advice on how to prepare for this transition.
• Fee Splitting is Unethical, and Sometimes Illegal - Describes the ins and outs of fee splitting and how to remain both ethical and legal in practice.
• 3 Questions to Ask HIPAA Vendors - Offers three important questions to consider when selecting a HIPPA service.
• Confronting Dissatisfaction with Professional Services - Provides twelve risk management strategies for practitioners to minimize, and hopefully avoid, consumer dissatisfaction and ethical/legal complaints.
• Advertising Offers Must be Ethical - Explores how to advertise psychological services both ethically and legally.
• Choosing Interpreter Requires Considerations - Raises points to consider when choosing an interpreter for use in clinical practice.
• Mass Shootings Unfairly Stigmatizing Mentally Ill - Highlights the issues surrounding media exposure and violent gun crimes, reminding clinicians of the ethical issues regarding mental health and gun violence.
• Court Ruling Could Affect Psychologists - The author reflects upon the court rulings in the case of Byrne v Avery Center to highlight the difference between privilege and confidentiality when patient records are under subpoena.
• Employee vs Independent Contractor - Why it Matters - Outlines criteria for determining if a clinician should be designated as an employee or independent contractor.
• Self-Care is Essential to Risk Management - Explains the importance of self-care, not only for the clinician’s health, but for the good of the practice.
• Telepsychology Takes Special Training - An overview of essential elements to consider before launching a telepsychology practice.
• New Lawsuit Revives Issue of Duty to Warn - Reminds practitioners of the Duty to Warn of potential threatening behavior from patients and recommends keeping up to date with specific state laws.
• Calling out Microaggressions: An Ethical Obligation - Shares an example of a microaggression and suggests a structured, easy to remember, strategy for intervention.
• What Kind of Liability Insurance is Best? - Discusses the difference between an Occurrence insurance policy and a Claims-Made policy.
• Managing Intoxicated Patients - Provides an overview of common situations and factors practitioners should prepare for and to inform their professional decision making when encountering an intoxicated patient.
• Sexually Kinky Clients Present Ethical Issues - Weighs the ethical issues that accompany treating patients who engage in kinky behaviors.
• Special Considerations Needed When Working with First Responders - Outlines the difficulties psychologists may encounter in treating first responders and provides suggestions on how to overcome the ethical challenges that may arise during treatment.
• Touching Not Always a Violation - Examines the need for discrepancy and compassion when supporting clients and lists the Zur Institute’s Risk Management guidelines.
• Child Porn Poses Ethical Dilemma - Clarifies the conflict that a therapist faces when patients reveal they are watching pornography online.
• How to Ethically Increase Access to Care During COVID-19 - Considers the importance of thoughtfully navigating the ethics of billing and payment during the pandemic.
• Therapy in the Time of COVID-19: A Look at One Ethical Issue - Provides a principle-based decision-making model to guide clinicians who are faced with patients who express intent to circumvent public health measures, placing the well-being of others at risk.
• ‘Please Don’t Tell My Surgeon’: Managing Privacy, Confidentiality in Integrated Healthcare Settings - Discusses the ethical challenges practitioners may face when working in an integrated healthcare setting.
• Minority IQ Scores Boosted to Enable Execution - Examines the issue of boosting IQ scores for minorities in sentencing and briefly explains the outcomes of relevant court cases.
• A Guide to Child Custody Evaluations and Expert Testimony - Shares key points to bear in mind before becoming involved with child custody evaluations and expert testimony.
• Seeing Domestic Violence Through Another Lens - Considers how men, who are victims of domestic violence, are overlooked and underserved.
• Talk of Risks, Side Effects May Lead to Nocebo Effect - Suggests ways to reduce the frequency and severity of Nocebo Effects.

Course #31-39 | 2022 | 55 pages | 20 posttest questions