Ethics and Technology: Protect Your Clients and Avoid Litigation

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Frederic G. Reamer, Ph.D. Related seminars and products

Professor

Rhode Island College

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Frederic G. Reamer, PhD, has been a professor in the graduate program of the School of Social Work, Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island, for over 30 years. Dr. Reamer received his PhD from the University of Chicago and has served as a social worker in correctional and mental health settings. He chaired the national task force that wrote the current National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics.

Dr. Reamer lectures both nationally and internationally on the subjects of professional ethics and professional malpractice and liability. In addition to ethics, his research and teaching have addressed a wide range of human service issues, including mental health, health care, criminal justice, and public welfare. Dr. Reamer has conducted extensive research on professional ethics and has been involved in several national research projects sponsored by The Hastings Center, Carnegie Corporation, Haas Foundation, and Center for Bioethics of the University of Pennsylvania.

He is the author of chapters on professional ethics in the Encyclopedia of Social Work, the Encyclopedia of Bioethics, and the Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, and is the author of many books, including: Risk Management in Social Work: Preventing Professional Malpractice, Liability, and Disciplinary Action; Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships in the Human Services; The Social Work Ethics Audit: A Risk Management Tool and his latest, On the Parole Board: Reflections on Crime, Punishment, Redemption, and Justice.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Frederic Reamer is a Professor, School of Social Work, for Rhode Island College.

Non-financial: Frederic Reamer is a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

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Objectives

1. Identify ethical challenges that are unique to practitioners’ use of digital and other technology.
2. Describe ethics guidelines and protocols that address challenges in the digital age.
3. Compare standards of care and ethical standards.
4. Explain practical ethical decision-making frameworks and protocols for digital technology.
5. Identify ethical issues that pose malpractice and liability risks.
6. Discuss strategies to protect clients and practitioners from digital pitfalls.

Outline

ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN THE DIGITAL AGE: THE ANATOMY OF ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PRESENTATION OF DIFFICULT CASES

• Communicating with clients using technology
• Managing and storing electronic information
• Delivering services using technology

COMMON ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

• Managing online social networks: Boundary challenges
• Using online search engines: Challenging privacy issues
• Clients’ access to practitioner’s electronic records: Documentation challenges
• Providing services across licensing jurisdictions: Legal risks
• Counseling clients you never meet in person: Ethical implications

RISK-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO PROTECT CLIENTS, PREVENT ETHICS COMPLAINTS AND LITIGATION

• The relationship between standards of care and ethical standards

ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING STRATEGIES

• Decision-making protocols in the digital age
• Codes of ethics
• Ethics literature
• Ethics committees
• Relevant regulations, statutes, and case law
• Professional practice standards: Standard and digital

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