NASW Code of Ethics BREAKDOWN | 1.07 Privacy and Confidentiality | PART 5
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers a comprehensive breakdown of the social work ethics code 1.07, focusing on privacy and confidentiality. It emphasizes the importance of respecting clients' privacy, obtaining consent for information disclosure, and safeguarding confidential information even in legal proceedings. The script also addresses the handling of group counseling, electronic communications, and the responsibilities of social workers in protecting client information, including in the event of a breach or after the social worker's termination of practice.
Takeaways
- 🔒 Social workers must respect clients' privacy and should not solicit private information unless there are compelling professional reasons.
- 🤝 Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply, and social workers must handle this information with care.
- 🚫 Social workers may disclose confidential information only with valid consent from the client or a legally authorized person.
- 👮♂️ Exceptions to confidentiality include situations where disclosure is necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to the client or others.
- 📝 Social workers should inform clients about the nature of confidentiality and its limitations at the start of their professional relationship.
- 🗣️ If social workers plan to disclose confidential information, they should inform clients about the disclosure and potential consequences when possible.
- 👪 When providing services to groups or families, social workers should seek agreements on confidentiality among all parties involved.
- 🏥 Social workers should not disclose confidential information to third-party payers, such as insurance companies, without client authorization.
- 📱 Social workers must protect the confidentiality of electronic communications and use safeguards like encryption and passwords.
- 🛡️ In legal proceedings, social workers should protect client confidentiality to the extent permitted by law and advocate for the least amount of information disclosure.
- 🗑️ Social workers should have policies for notifying clients of any breach of confidential information and take precautions to protect client confidentiality in case of practice termination, incapacitation, or death.
Q & A
What is the primary principle regarding privacy and confidentiality in social work as per the transcript?
-The primary principle is that social workers should respect clients' right to privacy and not solicit private information from or about clients except for compelling professional reasons. Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply.
Why should social workers avoid soliciting private information beyond compelling professional reasons?
-Social workers should avoid soliciting unnecessary private information to protect clients' privacy, maintain trust, and focus on the client's needs and goals without being intrusive or causing discomfort.
What does it mean to say 'confidentiality applies' in the context of social work?
-It means that once private information is shared with the social worker, they are ethically and professionally bound to keep that information confidential, except in cases of compelling professional reasons or legal requirements.
Under what circumstances may social workers disclose confidential information?
-Social workers may disclose confidential information when there is a valid consent from the client or a legally authorized person, or when necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to the client or others.
Why is it important for social workers to obtain legal consent before disclosing information to third parties?
-Obtaining legal consent ensures that the disclosure of information is lawful and that the client has given explicit permission for the social worker to share their information with a third party, protecting the client's rights and privacy.
What should social workers do if they plan to disclose confidential information?
-If social workers plan to disclose confidential information, they should, when feasible and to the extent possible, inform clients about the disclosure and the potential consequences prior to disclosing the information.
What is the significance of discussing confidentiality and its limitations with clients at the beginning of the social worker-client relationship?
-Discussing confidentiality and its limitations helps set clear expectations for the client regarding what information can be kept confidential and under what circumstances information may need to be disclosed, ensuring transparency and trust.
How should social workers handle the confidentiality of information shared in group or family counseling sessions?
-Social workers should seek agreement among all parties involved regarding each individual's right to confidentiality and obligation to preserve the confidentiality of information shared by others. They should also inform participants that they cannot guarantee all participants will honor such agreements.
What precautions should social workers take when using electronic communication to protect client confidentiality?
-Social workers should use safeguards such as encryption, firewalls, and passwords when using electronic communication methods like email, online posts, chat sessions, mobile communications, and text messages to ensure confidentiality and security.
What should social workers do in the event of a breach of confidential information?
-Social workers should develop and disclose policies and procedures for notifying clients of any breach of confidential information in a timely manner, consistent with applicable laws and professional standards.
How should social workers handle the transfer or disposal of client records?
-Social workers should transfer or dispose of client records in a manner that protects client confidentiality and complies with applicable laws governing records and social work licensure, ensuring secure and responsible management of client information.
Outlines
🤝 Importance of Privacy and Confidentiality in Social Work
The paragraph emphasizes the duty of social workers to respect their clients' privacy and confidentiality. It explains that private information should only be solicited for compelling professional reasons and that once shared, confidentiality standards apply. The summary highlights the importance of asking relevant questions during therapy sessions and the potential consequences of sharing information outside of those sessions, even with a celebrity client. It also touches on the need for legal consent when disclosing information to third parties and the exceptions to confidentiality when there's a risk of serious harm to the client or others.
📜 Legal and Ethical Considerations in Confidentiality
This paragraph discusses the legal and ethical considerations social workers must make regarding confidentiality. It covers the necessity of obtaining valid consent before disclosing information and the obligation to disclose the least amount of confidential information necessary when prevention of serious harm is required. The summary also addresses the responsibility to inform clients about potential disclosures and the consequences, as well as the need to educate clients about the limitations of confidentiality, especially in group settings where other participants are not bound by the same confidentiality standards.
🛡 Protecting Confidentiality in Various Scenarios
The paragraph explores different scenarios where social workers must protect confidentiality, including during legal proceedings and when dealing with third-party payers such as insurance companies. It stresses the importance of advocating for the least amount of information disclosure and ensuring privacy in electronic and in-person communications. The summary also mentions the need for social workers to inform clients about their agency's policies on information disclosure and to protect electronic communications through encryption and secure practices.
🗂 Safe Handling and Storage of Client Records
This paragraph focuses on the proper handling and storage of client records to ensure confidentiality. It discusses the need for secure storage locations and the use of safeguards such as encryption and passwords for electronic records. The summary highlights the importance of developing policies for notifying clients in case of a breach and adhering to applicable laws and professional standards when unauthorized access to records occurs.
🔍 Ethical Use of Electronic Technology in Social Work
The paragraph addresses the ethical use of electronic technology by social workers, including the gathering of information about clients and the use of electronic communication. It stresses the importance of obtaining client consent before searching or gathering information electronically and avoiding the posting of identifying or confidential information on professional websites or social media. The summary also covers the need for policies on data breaches and the responsible transfer or disposal of client records in accordance with legal requirements.
🏥 Confidentiality in Teaching, Training, and Post-Practice Scenarios
The final paragraph discusses the protection of client confidentiality in teaching and training, as well as in the event of a social worker's termination of practice, incapacitation, or death. It emphasizes the need for consent when disclosing identifying information for educational purposes and having a plan to protect client interests in case of unforeseen circumstances. The summary also mentions the importance of not disclosing identifying information when consulting with colleagues unless there is a compelling need and the responsibility to protect the confidentiality of deceased clients.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Privacy
💡Confidentiality
💡Consent
💡Professional Reasons
💡Safety Concerns
💡Legal Requirements
💡Electronic Communications
💡Breach of Confidential Information
💡Record Management
💡Teaching and Training
💡Deceased Clients
Highlights
Social workers must respect clients' right to privacy and not solicit private information except for compelling professional reasons.
Confidentiality standards apply once private information is shared by clients.
Social workers should only ask questions that pertain to helping the client, avoiding unnecessary personal inquiries.
Confidentiality must be maintained even when sharing information about clients in public forums like social media.
Social workers may disclose confidential information with valid consent from the client or a legally authorized person.
Disclosure of confidential information is allowed to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to the client or others.
Social workers should only disclose the minimum amount of confidential information necessary for the intended purpose.
If confidential information is to be disclosed, clients should be informed about the disclosure and potential consequences.
Social workers should explain the nature of confidentiality and its limitations to clients at the beginning of their relationship.
In group settings, social workers should seek agreement on confidentiality among all parties involved.
Social workers cannot guarantee that all participants in group settings will maintain confidentiality.
Policies regarding the disclosure of confidential information among parties in counseling should be shared with clients.
Social workers should not disclose confidential information to third-party payers without client authorization.
Confidential information should not be discussed in public or semi-public areas to ensure privacy.
Social workers must protect client confidentiality during legal proceedings as much as permitted by law.
In the event of a breach of confidential information, social workers should notify clients in a timely manner.
Social workers should develop policies for the use of electronic technology, including internet searches about clients.
Social workers should avoid posting identifying or confidential information about clients on professional websites or social media.
Confidentiality should be maintained when transferring or disposing of client records, following applicable laws and regulations.
Social workers should have precautions in place to protect client confidentiality in the event of their termination of practice, incapacitation, or death.
Deceased clients' confidentiality should be protected in accordance with the same standards as for living clients.
Transcripts
hey try welcome back this is the nesw
code of ethics breakdown part five and
we're going to be breaking down 1.07
privacy and confidentiality so stay
tuned okay so jumping into it social
workers should respect clients right to
privacy
period it just isn't like right there
period uh social workers should not
solicit private information from or
about clients except for compelling
professional reasons once private
information is shared standards of
confidentiality apply okay what does
this mean right so
privacy we want to keep make sure that
our clients have their privacy
absolutely right
social workers should not solicit
private information from or about
clients except for compelling
professional reasons so think about in
that space right you're sharing with the
client when you're meeting with a client
right especially if you're providing
Therapy Services they're in a vulnerable
space and they're sharing very sensitive
information right
because of this
we want to work with what they're giving
us and the questions we're asking we
want to make sure that the questions
we're asking are pertaining to helping
the client let's say you're meeting with
a celebrity client it doesn't have to be
a celebrity client but let's just say
you're meeting with a celebrity client
right and they're a music artist and
they're saying something along the lines
of you know I'm feeling a lot of
pressure of having to release an album
in time I'm getting a lot of pressure
from the label because of all the stuff
going on and we start to say
oh um what features are going to be on
there
oh what type of vibe you're going for
with the album notice how those
questions don't really have anything to
do with what the client's talking about
or necessarily helping them
um achieve their goals necessarily right
and this is saying
once information is shared even that
information
confidentiality applies because small
world how about if we were to get on our
social media site or tell someone oh I
can't wait for so-and-so's album or you
know I think it's good that this is
happening or more features of this
person and it's like
confidentiality pretty much in a
nutshell for this one
don't be nosy don't and again not even
necessarily with a celebrity client uh
the client doesn't have to be a
celebrity but just getting more and more
information that has doesn't have
anything to necessarily do with what
they're talking about or what's going to
help them achieve their ultimate goals
for uh seeking out therapy and when they
say for compelling professional reasons
right there could be a situation where
again it's not a safety concern it could
be absolutely safely Above All right but
it could be a situation where for
compelling professional reasons
compelling meaning there is no
misunderstanding right because there's
so many different scenarios that could
occur if a scenario would occur where
it's like hey I feel comfortable
appearing in front of a board or whoever
um and saying the reason why this
occurred I got this additional
information and everything was for
insert compelling professional reason
here and they're like yeah that makes
sense that's a that really is a
compelling professional reason then
we're good but if it's nothing like that
we just want be mindful of that b social
workers May disclose confidential
information when appropriate with valid
consent from a client or a person
legally authorized to consent on behalf
of a client so again confidentiality
applies we need you know the right legal
consent to be able to speak to that
individual or that entity on the
client's behalf so we can't just talk to
them just because even if the client
says it's okay like oh yeah that's my
mom that's my spouse that says whoever
we still want to you know proceed get
that you know legal consent that
document have them sign off saying that
it gives us the social worker
professional
um the ability to be able to contact
that person that entity on their behalf
see social workers should protect the
confidentiality of all information
obtained in the course of Professional
Service except for compelling
professional reasons uh the general
exception uh that social workers will
keep information confidential does not
apply when disclosure is necessary to
prevent serious foreseeable and imminent
harm to a client or others in all
instances social workers should disclose
the least amount of confidential
information necessary to achieve the
desired purpose only information that is
directly relevant to the purpose of
which the disclosure is made should be
revealed so essentially safety above all
both safety for the client safety and to
the broader Society like if a client say
I'm going to hurt my boss or something
like that and is foreseeable imminent
threat dangers again to themselves and
others different right and it's also
saying even if it is a situation like
that or we're obligated to turn over
documents because it's coming from a
court or a judge we want to see well if
it's coming from a court judge we're
going to Advocate to see if you know we
can only give the judge what they
actually need we're not just going to
turn over everything and if they're just
says we need everything then we gotta
give over everything but we want to
advocate for as least amount of
information to be turned over as
possible and even when it is a safety
concern we're going to tell them the
entire back story like of uh speaking of
a law enforcement or whatever case may
be oh here's the entire backstory of
this person right the client we just
want to give them an information that
they need so that uh they can address
the safety concern appropriately we're
not going to again tell them like their
whole history type of thing d
if social workers plan to disclose
confidential information they should
when feasible and to the extent possible
inform clients about the disclosure and
the potential consequences prior to
disclosing the information this applies
whether social workers disclose
confidential information on the basis of
a legal requirement or client consent so
again
to the legal estate possible Right
if a judge says like hey I don't want
you informing the client or anything
like that so the judge court ordered
they're contacting us the social worker
and they're saying Hey I want this
client's records and of course we want
to Advocate to say like do you really
need the records and you're like no we
really need the records um I want all
their records and you know don't inform
the client then legally we can't right
but if we are able to inform the client
like hey
um we've been contacted by the judge to
provide your records and they want all
of your records because when we try to
Advocate they say no we want all the
records type of thing then we would want
to be able to speak with the client and
also uh this applies whether social
workers disclose confidential
information on the basis of a legal
requirement or client consent even with
client consent
um we want to inform them that
um when feasible it's an extent possible
inform clients about the disclosure and
the potential consequences of disclosing
information so saying like hey
once this information is out there like
if a client gives us consent once this
information is out there you know it's
out there type of thing and depending on
who's it going to right think about yo
that's fine like if it's going to a
caseworker or something that you know we
need to be in contact with the way oh
that's fine
um but even if it's coming from a judge
and you know they're demanding it and we
are able to contact the client in this
case in this scenario we want to let
them know like
more eyes are going to be on your files
essentially because it's going to the
court and more eyes are going to be on
your file type of thing e social workers
should disclose with clients and other
interested parties the nature of
confidentiality and limitations of
clients right to confidentiality social
workers should review with clients
circumstances where confidentiality
information may be requested and where
disclosure of confidential information
may be legally required this discussion
should occur as soon as possible and the
social worker client relationship and as
needed throughout the course of the
relationship so
honestly before services are even you
know occurring right this is
confidentiality the limits of
confidentiality meaning you know if you
know confidentiality uh won't
necessarily apply when it's for safety
concerns eminent danger to your you know
self somebody else legal requirements
like as being court ordered coming from
a judge for um the legal documentation
and everything right so those are some
of the limits of confidentiality again
safety above all and those legal
requirements if uh we're getting you
know contacted by a judge for the
documents of a client that we're seeing
so those are the limits we want to be
able to make sure that they're aware of
and then again
um as as needed honestly throughout the
course of uh providing services to them
in case something comes up where it
really is appearing of like okay here's
the limitations to it this is what we
can do Etc F when social workers provide
counseling services to families couples
or groups social workers should seek
agreement among the parties involved
concerning each individual's right to
confidentiality and obligation to
preserve the confidentiality of
information shared by others this
agreement should include consideration
of whether confidential information may
be exchanged and person or
electronically among clients or with
others outside of formal counseling
sessions social workers should inform
participants and family couples or group
counseling that social workers cannot
guarantee that all participants will
honor such agreements so during
situations where like they were saying
there's multiple people hearing
your information
as the social work professional
we're obligated to
maintain confidentiality right we're not
going to be going out you know telling
your business online or in person or
anything like that right but the other
people in the room whether it's a spouse
a group member whoever
they're not uh obligated to the same
confidentiality that we are now we
definitely want to kind of say like hey
everyone you know we're here for you
know this reason is this benefit we want
to make sure this is a safe space
um we want to exercise confidentiality
and not you know put our business online
and stuff like that or in person again
it could be a small world and if you
guys do decide to you know talk about
some of the things that have been talked
about in this space right here we just
want to be able to you know make sure
it's clear amongst all parties and
everything like that but just letting
them know because that other people are
involved hearing these sensitive
information we although we promote it
right we can't guarantee that this
person and that person will maintain
confidentiality we definitely promote it
but we can't guarantee because they're
not obligated to the same
um standards and requirements and
everything that we are as the social
work professional G social workers
should inform clients involved in family
couples marital or group counseling of
the social workers employers and
agencies policy concerning the social
workers disclosure of confidential
information among the parties involved
in the counseling so if you're in an
agency uh you know let's say you're at
an outpatient facility you're working
with a psychiatrist a nurse other
therapist right you know there's there's
going to be more people involved in that
client's care is what I'm saying and uh
just kind of letting them know like hey
multiple people are going to be involved
in your care because let's say you know
you're at an agency an organization and
just making sure that they're aware of
all these things h social workers should
not disclose confidential information to
third-party payers unless the clients
have authorized such disclosure so
typically when they refer to third-party
payers they're talking about insurance
companies right so let's say you know a
client comes in they're seeking Services
right and again before any services or
anything like that begin we give them
the paperwork to sign like we go over
everything get the paperwork to sign
like the HIPAA and all that other stuff
right and if they plan on using their
insurance you know we also inform them
that you know essentially other eyes are
going to be on your information
and they have the right to say no no I
don't want to use my insurance because I
don't want other you know eyeballs on my
uh on my sensitive information and
everything like that well then their
insurance company whatever insurance
provider they have
they won't pay for it and
this can get really expensive so more
times than not the client will say yes I
sign off for my insurance uh the
insurance company to be able to look at
my information and get updates and
things of that nature because since the
insurance company is paying for it you
know they're paying for it and they're
saying like that's one of the
requirements for us to pay for it is to
be able to
um do the the check-in and be able to
see so for example at an outpatient
facility I used to work at let's say a
clients coming in for whatever reasons
they're coming in for right and they're
authorized a certain amount of days once
those days are up we need to seek
authorization for the client four more
days if more days are needed and that
involves speaking with their insurance
company and pretty much giving them an
update of how things been going it's
like oh yeah we need x amount more days
you know this is a progress they made
thus far right because
the insurance company is not going to
keep paying because they want updates
and everything like that right so if
again the client said no no I don't want
anyone involved
the insurance company is just not going
to pay for it but more times than not
clients typically do uh say like yeah
the insurance company can be involved I
social workers should not discuss
confidential information electronically
or in person in any setting unless
privacy can be insured social workers
should not discuss confidential
information in public or semi-public
areas such as hallways waiting rooms
elevators and restaurants so essentially
do it within a professional setting
within a professional space like the
office or if you're providing Services
via Telehealth or online make sure like
there's no people around and it's it's a
a safe space right we're not providing
services to talk doing therapy and
talking about sensitive information in
hallways restaurants and things of that
nature Jay social workers should protect
the confidentiality of clients during
legal proceedings to the extent
permitted by the law so again clients
best interest at heart we want to always
keep that in mind to the extent
permitted by the law so even going back
to
um when the judge if if a judge is
requesting a client's record we want to
advocate for them essentially not to
turn over the records and if we have to
turn over the records can we Advocate um
we will advocate for the least amount of
information to be turned over as
possible and if the just says cool then
great but if they say nope I want
everything then we would have to hand
over everything
um when a court of law or other legally
authorized body or the social workers to
disclose confidential or privileged
information without without a client's
consent and such disclosure could cause
harm to the client social workers should
request that the court withdraw the
order or limit the order as narrowly as
possible so the least amount possible or
maintain the records under seal
unavailable for public inspection so
again this is really speaking to
advocating where if it's going to go
down type of thing we will want to
advocate for the client of like like can
we not and then this and it just says
yeah we want to can we nearly as
possible and they say no well can you
still like be under seal and stuff like
that and the judge could say okay to uh
one of those things right
um but if they say nope I want it all
we're not doing any of that then we
would have to
um we're legally required to turn over
that information quick side note if a
subpoena is coming from a lawyer or
another entity that's not a court or
judge and when this court ordered judges
give the the court order
um then we can uh enact privilege where
we don't have to turn over that
information and we want to discuss it
with the client because sometimes I may
say like oh yeah that's that's fine you
can give them my records for that or
whatever the case may be but again if
it's coming from a judge court order you
know we're legally required we'll want
to Advocate
um on the client's behalf to the judge
to say like hey do we have to turn over
this information at all and if they say
yeah narrow it it as much as possible
and saying could it be remain under seal
and everything
um and if they agree with it cool and if
the judge doesn't agree with it then we
would have to again uh turn it over okay
social workers should protect the
confidentiality of clients when
responding to requests from members of
the media so again
in all aspects it doesn't matter if it's
media like what anywhere any and
everywhere
clients best interest at heart we want
to protect them as much as possible
including who they are if we're working
with celebrity clients right people
that's more like visible more out there
we don't want to drop hints or talk to
Media or any of that
um confidentiality clients best
interests at heart above all L social
workers should protect the
confidentiality of clients written
electronic records and other sensitive
information social workers should take
reasonable steps to ensure that clients
records are stored in a secure location
and the clients records are not
available to others who are not
authorized to have access so
whatever form right a documents right uh
whether they're written or um documented
electronically uh have like firewalls
and everything there's a bunch of
systems um like you guys see right here
I have a simple practice up here that's
electronic uh Healthcare record system
that I use
um it's safe encrypted all of that we
just want to make sure that
people who don't have access to it don't
have access to it type of thing m
social workers should take reasonable
steps to protect the confidentiality of
electronic communications including
information provided to clients or third
parties social workers should use
applicable safeguards such as
encryptions firewalls and passwords when
using electronic communication such as
email online posts online chat sessions
mobile Communications and text messages
so again
do your absolute best to make sure that
it's confidential it's safe people that
shouldn't have access to it don't have
access to it and we want to make it
um hard as hard as possible as far as
like in encryptions firewalls passwords
all that great stuff in social workers
should develop and disclose policies and
procedures for notifying clients of any
breach of confidential information in a
timely manner so let's say if you know
things happen right
um their information is breached or
potentially breached because let's say
you know some some entity hacked into
the system we will want to let the
clients know an appropriate time frame
of like hey this issue occurred your
information was either viewed or
possibly viewed but just want to kind of
let you know because again it isn't it's
their information we don't want to keep
them we want to keep them in the loop we
don't want to just hide this from them
or anything like that oh in the event of
unauthorized access to client records or
information including any unauthorized
access to the social workers electronic
communication or storage systems social
workers should inform clients of such
disclosures consistent with applicable
laws and Professional Standards so again
uh wherever you're located I'm in New
Jersey whether you're in New York
Arizona Atlanta wherever you're at you
know we always want to adhere to the
laws the regulations the the standards
everything within that uh area that
we're in p social workers should develop
and inform clients about their policies
consistent with prevailing Social Work
ethical standards on the use of
electronic technology including
internet-based search engines to gather
information about clients so again just
kind of keeping the clients updated
about you know what they're getting into
as far as the services we provide
our policies everything and this usually
again happens at the start of um
Services even before they're actually
starting we're just going to give them
an update of like everything all the
confidentiality all the the limits to it
the policies the limitation like
everything cue social workers should
avoid searching or gathering client
information electronically unless there
are compelling professional reasons and
when appropriate with the client's
informed consent so hey should we be
doing Google searches of the clients no
again we talk about like their privacy
and everything we're already meeting
with them and they're sharing very
vulnerable sensitive information we're
not doing like background checks on them
or anything like that like oh they have
a YouTube channel let me just look it up
oh cool just to check it out type of
thing
we want them to maintain their
confidentiality and their privacy right
um we don't want to break that and do
kind of like our own like searches of
them again if it's a compelling
compelling meeting Yep this is pretty uh
clear uh most people would agree type of
thing unless they're a compelling
professional reason different but if
it's just out of our own curiosity our
interests or something like that then uh
we want to avoid that r
social workers should avoid posting any
identifying or confidential information
about clients on professional websites
or other forms of social media again
like let's not put our clients business
out there because even though we're not
necessarily using their name
they know their story and let's say if
we put essentially in a client's entire
history or a situation up and it's again
it's in detail and everything like that
yeah we might have not used their name
but if a client again small world right
a client happened to come buy it somehow
and you know it's posted on a certain
form or whatever and the client sees
that you know they're going to feel some
type of way about that and we don't want
to clients best interest at heart we
don't want to do that to a client
um or anyone for that matter so
avoid that s social workers should
transfer or dispose of clients records
in a manner that protects clients
confidentiality and is consistent with
applicable laws governing records and
social work licensure so when we're
disposing or transferring records legal
legal requirements right what state are
you located in do they have specific
laws on how to transfer records or
dispose of records and this also goes
along with you know how long should you
keep a client's records for refer to
State guidelines refer to your
jurisdiction because it's going to be
different if you're in La New Jersey uh
Illinois right it's always going to be
different but we want to make sure that
we're doing it in an appropriate manner
not just
um let's say if it was uh written
records not just throwing them in a
recycling bin type of thing T social
workers should take reasonable
precautions to protect client
confidentiality in the events of the
social workers termination of practice
uh in capitation or death so
uh
if unfortunate things happen we want to
have a a plan for the clients that we're
we're seeing right
um again we don't want this stuff to
happen but you know what is the plan
um if this were to happen if we're part
of an agency you know they usually have
policies and plans and everything like
that and if we're a private practice
we're by ourselves we want to have a
plan where you know the client
um somehow was updated about you know
what's going on and you know what's
going to proceed from there and
everything like that so this is just
saying you know prepare for the worst
type of thing so the clients can you
know still have uh be updated and have
benefit
um in some way shape or form you uh
social workers should not disclose
identifying information when discussing
clients for teaching or training
purposes unless the client has consented
to disclose to disclosure of
confidential information again if we get
consent oh we need consent from the
client and if we get it cool if we don't
be very mindful yes we can say oh it's
for teaching purposes and everything
like that but
rule of thumb when in doubt generalize
it out we don't have to use super
specific identifying details right like
we could say like a client was
depression we don't have to say a client
with depression with X Y and Z going on
where it's like okay now it's like very
identifying because we're telling like
their story and again you never know
small world type of thing so when in
doubt generalize it out the social
workers should not disclose identifying
information when discussing clients with
uh Consultants unless the client has
consensus disclosure of confidential
information or there's a compelling need
for such disclosure again compelling is
like very clear very right and when it
says social work should not just uh
disclose identifying information
identifying meaning using their name
that's identifying and again being
mindful of using the super specific
details of a of a client in their
experience what they went through like
when in doubt generalize it out we can
get what we need out of the consultation
without giving the super identifying
details of essentially telling all the
details of their story and whatnot and W
social workers should protect the
confidentiality of deceased clients
consistent with the preceding standards
so again wherever those preceding
standards are
just because a client unfortunately you
know passed we're not going to say like
okay their records yeah oh anyone can
have them and stuff like that we want to
definitely consult with like state laws
and everything like that if we're part
of an agency absolutely like their
policies and everything or how they
handle it and also we want to be mindful
of saying like Okay just because this is
a family member like oh can I get my
clients right like no like we want to
see what releases are on filed and how
to proceed accordingly and everything
not just say okay here's all the
information okay try that was it for
today's video that was 1.07 privacy and
confidentiality I hope you guys enjoyed
and as always don't forget to like
comment subscribe share with a social
work friend because again we don't want
to be licensed by ourselves and you got
this okay try I'll see you next video
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