RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Rights and Responsibilities of Psychologists and Clients

Rights and Responsibilities of Psychologists and Clients

This paper is based on interviews conducted from three psychologists and their clients regarding their rights and responsibilities. The interviews were of thirty-minute duration in which questions were posed to both psychologists and clients. The clients were seemingly satisfied with the way they were being treated. On the other hand psychologists were happy about their clients behavior that had transformed drastically after the treatment.

Answering a question about the privacy of information, one of the psychologists was of the point of view that protection of the security and confidentiality of information is an essential responsibility of health care managers. Health information systems contain sensitive information. Clinical systems process medical information about individual patients. Human resources information systems contain personal information about employees. Financial and decision support systems include proprietary data used for planning, marketing, and management of the enterprise.

On a question regarding the complaince of HIPAA standards, all the three physicians were coherent in voicing their concerns. They said that HIPAA compliance and modification of information systems to meet HIPAA standards have become major issues for health care organizations. Many organizations have established HIPAA task forces. Some have appointed compliance and/or privacy offices to lead the efforts. Others are using existing organizational units including the office of the chief information officer, medical records, and risk management.

The clients were concerned about the prevailing practice of informed consent within the healthcare settings. They raised their concern and suggested that A good informed consent form is clear and understandable, free of jargon, and provides an appropriate level of detail for the respondent. The nature of the interaction between the respondent and the person obtaining consent is important. The form should be provided in a friendly and open, but respectful, manner that encourages the recipient to ask questions or express concerns. Precautions should be taken so that the respondent does not feel intimidated by any perceived higher status of the person giving the form. When data are collected from individuals whose culture or norms differ from those of the evaluator, representatives of that group should be recruited to ensure that the form addresses concerns that those respondents might have regarding privacy, confidentiality, or other issues and uses language and terms that are familiar to the respondents.

Particular care should be taken to help individuals who may feel pressured to participate recognize that their choice is voluntary (Herlihy, Corey, 2006). In evaluation, these groups are common sources of data and include prisoners, employees, and recipients of services who may feel that their eligibility for services could be threatened by failure to participate. Other groups, such as children, developmentally delayed adults, and persons with mental illness or senility, may be unable to give full informed consent. They may assent to participate, but parents or other guardians must also give full consent.

When data are collected through surveys or telephone interviews, voluntary consent is obtained when the respondent chooses to complete the survey or phone ...