Consulting your malpractice insurance carrier’s attorney: what you might not know…..

May 24, 2007 on 8:29 pm | In Legal Basics, Practice Management | No Comments

Most clinicians take great care to maintain an ethical and legally compliant practice. Yet, despite these efforts there are still instances where consultation with available written materials and other clinicians yields incomplete answers. Clinicians have several options for additional help when the questions concern compliance with applicable statutes, regulations, and case law. In these situations clinicians often turn to attorneys for assistance in navigating these difficult dilemmas.

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Informed Consent (part 2): what it is and what it isn’t

May 14, 2007 on 11:07 pm | In Legal Basics, Practice Management | No Comments

A previous post discussed the origins and development of informed consent. Hopefully that provides a good basis for understanding this post, which is a discussion about what informed consent is and isn’t. Many clinicians have come to know informed consent as a form, when it is in fact a discussion. Readers who haven’t seen the previous post on the origins of informed consent might want to read that post first (it can be found here), as it provides some of the background information for this post.

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Juvenile Incompetency to Stand Trial: can it be based on developmental immaturity?

May 11, 2007 on 8:42 am | In Forensic Practice | 1 Comment

On May 10th, 2007, the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District addressed the longstanding question of whether juvenile respondents may be found incompetent to stand trial based upon age-related developmental immaturity, or whether such a finding must be predicated on a “mental disorder” or developmental disability. It is a decision that draws heavily on developmental research, due process, and criminal procedure. It is well worth the read for clinicians and attorneys who work in juvenile proceedings.

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Informed Consent (part 1): its origins and development

May 3, 2007 on 2:39 am | In Legal Basics, Practice Management | No Comments

When asked about informed consent, most clinicians readily identify it as a piece of paper that is signed toward the beginning of a professional encounter. This is true. However, the real truth is that informed consent is actually much more. Surprisingly, an explanation of informed consent also requires a bit of an excursion into the legal worlds of battery and contracts.

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