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This event will be presented virtually live and also recorded. A Zoom link to for the live webinar will be sent via email to registrants in their confirmation email. After the event, a link to the event recording will also be sent to all registrants.
SESSION I: NO STRESS RECORDS REQUESTS
9-12AM PST
COURSE DESCRIPTION
“Are my notes sufficient?” “Do I have to provide the entire record??” “Could my license be at risk?” Anxiety-inducing questions like these often flood therapists’ minds the moment they receive records requests from patients, attorneys, insurance companies, or other third parties. However, understanding how to create quality patient records and effectively respond to records requests can allow practitioners to handle such requests with confidence and ease. Join CAMFT staff attorney Brad Muldrow for a helpful overview of the legal and ethical requirements for recordkeeping and responding to records requests..
EDUCATIONAL GOALS
Participants will become familiar with notetaking approaches that: 1) are consistent with their legal and ethical obligations; and 2) demonstrate their competence and the effectiveness of their services in case the notes are ever reviewed by attorneys or other third parties during litigation, BBS disciplinary hearings, or other legal processes. Participants will understand state and federal requirements for responding to records requests from patients, attorneys, insurance companies, and other third parties.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will be able to:
Recognize the BBS’ recordkeeping standard and identify two additional recordkeeping systems that are utilized by certain third-party payers and employers
Know how long the law requires them to keep patient records post-termination and why CAMFT recommends that practitioners keep their records for three years beyond that period
Recognize important legal distinctions between responding to records requests under HIPAA and California law
OUTLINE
I. Recordkeeping
a. What Are Patient Records?
b. Standard for Recordkeeping
c. Recordkeeping Ethics
d. Responsibilities of Supervisors
e. Substance of the Record
f. Approaches to Notetaking
g. Purposes for Notetaking
II. Maintaining Records
a. Record Retention Period
III. Responding to Records Requests
a. Records Requests from Patients
◼ HIPAA Requirements
◼ California Law Requirements
b. Providing a Treatment Summary in Lieu of the Record
c. Requests for Minor Patients’ Records
d. Records Requests from Attorneys
e. Records Requests from Insurance Companies
◼ Considerations for In-Network Providers
◼ Considerations for Out-of-Network Providers
f. Records Requests from Other Third Parties
g. Requests for Deceased Patients’ Records
IV. Conclusion
SESSION II: LETTERS, TESTIMONY, AND BOUNDARIES
1-4PM PST
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Therapists are often asked to write letters, fill out forms and offer professional opinions on behalf of clients. During this three hour presentation, CAMFT Staff Attorney Alain Montgomery will review key legal and ethical standards for therapists to consider before writing a letter or filling out a form for a client and discuss how to manage the potential outcome of having to respond to a subpoena and/or testify as a witness in a legal proceeding which could result from having rendered a professional opinion on behalf of a client.
EDUCATIONAL GOALS
Participants will gain a better understanding of their scope of practice and scope of competence, understand the applicable standard of care that governs their profession and be able to identify the applicable CAMFT ethical standards that relate to writing letters and offering professional opinions. At the end of the workshop, participants will be better equipped to make informed and legally and ethically sound decisions when writing letters on behalf of a client and understand the boundaries around offering professional opinions in court involved cases.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of the workshop participants will be able to:
1) Distinguish the meaning between a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist’s (LMFT) Scope of Practice and Scope of Competence.
2) Identify the applicable standards of care and relevant sections of the CAMFT Code of Ethics that address issues related to writing letters and offering professional opinions.
3) Identify the basic that pertain to writing letters.
4) Identify specific considerations for a therapist to evaluate when contemplating whether or not to write a letter or fill out a form on behalf of a client.
5) Develop practical guidelines for writing letters and transmitting letters to clients or third parties.
6) Identify the types of letters that a therapist is typically asked to write at the request of a client and the situations during which a therapist may be asked to provide a professional opinion in a legal proceeding.
7) Determine the steps that can be utilized to manage the potential outcomes of having to respond to a client’s or third party’s request for the client’s record or respond to a subpoena to produce documents or testify in court which could result from having written a letter on behalf of a client.
OUTLINE
I. Introduction
II. Applicable Legal, Regulatory, Ethical Standards and Rules for MFT’s
III. Rules that pertain to writing letters
IV. Considerations to Evaluate Before Writing a Letter
V. Practical Writing Guidelines for Crafting Language When Writing Letters
VI. Options for Transmitting Letters
VII. Types of letter requests that a therapist receives
VIII. Filling out Forms on behalf of a client
IX. Outcomes & Impacts for MFT’s Who Write Letters and Fill out Forms on Behalf of Clients
X. Professional Opinions in Legal Proceedings a. Difference between a fact witness and an expert witness
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TARGET AUDIENCE
This event is for mental health professionals.
COST
$50 for Chapter Members
$75 for Non-members
$40 for Students
Refund/Cancellation Policy
Please visit our website: www.camft-sandiego.org/grievance
ACCOMODATIONS & GRIEVANCES
Please email the Education Chair at education@camft-sandiego.org
CERTIFICATES
Course Completion certificates will be awarded electronically in exchange for a completed evaluation form / assessment. Please make sure the Program Administrator has your correct email.
Course meets the qualifications for 6 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Partial credit will not be awarded.
Participants must be present for the entire length of the workshop to be awarded credit. Participants will not be given CEU credit if they are more than 15 minutes late and/or do not stay for the entire length of the workshop.
This course is provided by the San Diego Chapter of the California association of marriage and family therapists (Provider #57330) is approved by the California association of marriage and family therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs. San Diego chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists maintains responsibility for the program and all its content.
Please email the CEU Chair at ceuchair@camft-sandiego.org
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