Client confidentiality and privileged communications

By Carolyn Polowy

Subjects: Confidential communications, Social workers, Social case work, Legal status, laws

Description: Applying the concepts of confidentiality and privilege to the professional services provided by social workers, this law note covers federal health privacy laws and regulations, state law standards, and practitioners' ethical obligations in the following areas: confidentiality requirements (including scope of confidentiality and obtaining client consent), situations in which disclosure of confidential information is required or permitted (including HIPAA exceptions to confidentiality and instances in which clients are a danger to themselves or others), and privilege and the release of client information in legal proceedings.