Ethical Practice & Confidentiality: Issues for Substance Use, Mental Health, and other Healthcare Providers

Sponsor: NHADACA

Hybrid – please choose in person or virtual attendance when registering.

Changes in confidentiality regulations and a changing healthcare landscape demanding increase integration of behavioral and physical healthcare make it critical for substance use disorder and mental health practitioners to have a firm grasp of the rules and laws that govern their practice in order to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of the clients they serve.  Managed care, duty to warn issues, mandated reporting, the growing number of mandated clients, the increase in integrated healthcare delivery networks and the litigious nature of our society add additional stress to this requirement.  This workshop will examine the recent changes in the Federal Confidentiality Regulations governing Substance Use Disorder Patient Records (42 C.F.R. Part 2) and the areas of conflict between these regulations and HIPAA.  The practical application of these regulations will be examined with respect to integrated care networks, electronic health records, Health Information Organizations, managed care, client safety issues, duty to warn, subpoenas and court orders.

As a result of this training, participants will:  learn to recognize the elements that define an individual or entity as a Part 2 Program; develop an understanding of the practical application of the federal confidentiality guidelines (HIPPA and 42 CFR Part 2) to their practice; develop and understanding of the final rules changes in 42 CFR Part 2 and their implications for client confidentiality and counselor responsibility; develop an understanding of the issues involved in balancing the imperative of client confidentiality with the demands of integrated client care; learn to identify and respond to conflicts between competing laws and statutes governing the confidentiality of client communications; learn to respond to subpoenas, court orders and warrants;  learn to identify and resolve ethical conflicts which may arise when working with clients involved in the criminal justice system; develop an understanding the counselor’s duty to warn and the issues that raises with respect to client confidentiality, counselor liability and ethical practice.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER:Jacqui Abikoff, LICSW, MLADC, is Executive Director of Horizons Counseling Center, an outpatient substance use and co-occurring disorders treatment and recovery center in the Lakes Region of NH. She has worked in program development in the area of criminal justice and trauma informed treatment, she was active in developing and administering the Recovery Court Program in Belknap County and in developing and implementing treatment programming for incarcerated populations. She has been a strong voice in the establishment of clinical and ethical practice standards in behavioral health on the state and national levels for over 30 years. Ms. Abikoff has chaired the Public Policy and Ethics Committees of the NH Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors Association and the NH Providers Association and she served on the NH Board of Licensing for Alcohol and Other Drug Use Professionals.  She provides training and consultation on confidentiality, professional ethics, co-occurring disorders, suicide prevention, clinical supervision, and criminal justice programming for behavioral health providers, criminal justice and healthcare programs both locally and nationally.

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