In: Philosophy and Psychology

Release of Records or Test Data Essay

Module #5, Assignment #2 Release of Records or Test Data
Argosy University

The clinical file serves many purposes, and many parties have a stake in its contents. Thus, maintaining accurate records is important for more than just the provider's sake. A well-organized and faithfully maintained file indicates the client's baseline condition and treatment goals. It is also a memorandum concerning whether these goals were accomplished (Hartsell, 2008).
When faced with a request for records, I would employ a systematic decision-making approach verses a heuristic approach. The systematic approach I would use would both investigate the ethical issues and the resolve the dilemma. I would have a seven-step process. I would define carefully the issues and parties involved, scan the ethics codes and identify all relevant clauses. Also check other applicable professional guidelines (for example, the Specialty Guide for Forensic Psychology) and any pertinent legislation, consulting with colleagues is also often appropriate, evaluate the rights, responsibilities and welfare of all affected parties, generate as many alternative decisions as possible, evaluate carefully the likely outcome of each decision, choose what, in my professional judgment, is the best decision, implement it, and inform relevant parties, and lastly, take responsibility for the consequences of the decision. I feel this is the best approach because it covers all of the bases for providing information to a third party and potentially breaking confidentiality.
The best and the worst part about the decision tree presented in the journal article was that it specifically was geared towards a legal demand by the court for the records/test data and was not general enough to use for any request. It gives a great guide for a request via