So You’ve Been Asked to Write a Declaration……

The question of what to do when asked to author or sign a declaration on behalf of a patient is a stressful dilemma for most practitioners. This usually occurs when a patient is in the midst of litigation and the patient or the patient’s attorney believes that a statement from the practitioner would be helpful.

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Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege for Private Sex Offender Treatment?

On February 20th, 2008, the Court of Appeal of the state of California, Second Appellate District, published an opinion in the nature of the psychotherapist-patient privilege for convicted sex offenders undergoing voluntary psychotherapy.

The question the court faced was this: if a convicted sex offender (SO) is required to undergo psychotherapy as a part of his/her parole, and the SO sees a private psychotherapist in addition to the treatment mandated under the terms of his/her parole, does the State of California have the power to compel the parolee to waive his/her right to confidentiality?

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Those Confidentiality Disclaimers At The End Of Your Email……..

Huge numbers of clinicians have disclaimers at the end of email messages that say something like this:

“The information contained in this email is CONFIDENTIAL. If you have received this message in error or without the express direction of the original author, please notify the sender and delete this email immediately.”

But what does that mean? Should you have one of these disclaimers? And if you do, does it have any effect?

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HIPAA: Once a covered entity, always a covered entity?

Rightly or wrongly, HIPAA is perceived by many clinicians as an administrative nightmare. For those who aren’t already compliant, the task of becoming HIPAA compliant isn’t one that clinicians relish. Most clinicians who have practices that need to be HIPAA compliant accomplished this task a long time ago.

For those who/that are covered entities, is there a way to get away from HIPAA? Can clinicians who no longer wish to be “covered entities” opt out of compliance with HIPAA?

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

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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