Ethical and legal aspects of survey research.

Sample surveys have been received as legal evidence since 1940. Judges have given weight to sample survey research in reaching decisions. Among the problems involved is the legal pressure to disclose names of respondents—a violation of the principle of confidentiality and anonymity under which much survey research is conducted. "It is the purpose of the present paper to call to the attention of relevant professional associations the need for guidance on this ethical and legal issue." Under what conditions should names of respondents be disclosed? Major sections are: The scientist in court, The dilemma, Estimating reliability, A case study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confidentiality: Ethical and legal aspects for Canadian psychologists.

Discusses the ethical and legal aspects of confidentiality for Canadian psychologists, with particular emphasis on clinical psychology. The concepts of confidentiality, privileged communication, and privacy are clarified. The law of privileged communication in Canada is presented. Ethical standards, provincial and federal legislation, and case law bearing on confidentiality in clinical practice are discussed. Issues of mandatory child abuse reporting, the duty to protect, informed consent, and 3rd-party and client access to records are explored. Suggestions are made to the psychologist regarding the management of confidentiality. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical, legal and medical aspects of transplantation

Tissue and organ transplantation is a very complex interdisciplinary treatment, particularly in regard to unpaired organs, and it carries numerous risks for all participants in such an action. For the purpose of minimizing the risks to the allowed level and the preservation the humanitarian goals in medicine when performing the transplantation, professional and scientific doctrines and the respect of ethical and legal principles should be strictly observed. The paper presents the basic approaches in the estimation of justification, usefulness and certain forms of responsibility in the process of transplantation. Ethical and legal postulates which support transplantation to prevent deviation, deprivation or delinquency have also been reviewed.     

Ethical and legal aspects of assisted reproduction practice in Asia

This report describes the ethical and legal aspects of assisted reproduction technology (ART) that have been instituted in Asian countries. The data were collected by a questionnaire circulated to ART units in Asia. These are Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Iran, India, Jordan, Malaysia, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Persian Gulf countries. According to the survey, there are approximately 260 ART centers in Asia (half of which are in Japan). On a global basis each ART centre in Asia serves an average population of 13 million people. On the other hand, in those Asian countries where the standards of living are relatively high, the availability of ART services, including the more sophisticated and costly ART procedures like micromanipulation, is similar to that in the Western world. In most of the Asian countries practising ART, however, no state registry exists. Taiwan is the only country that has specific legislation, and in six other countries some kind of ministerial regulations are practised. We conclude that ART is now practised in 20 countries in Asia. The prevailing rules and cultural heritage in many of these Asian countries has a major influence on the implementation of ART in Asia. However, in view of the complicated and sensitive issues involved, and as no supervision on ART clinics exists in most of the Asian countries, we advocate that some kind of quality control should be urgently instituted in all centres practising ART. In this way, it is hoped that the highest standards be attained for all parties concerned.     

Medical legal aspects of clinical monitoring

Modern laboratory technology has spawned a plethora of techniques for measuring and monitoring drug concentrations and body constituents; but the availability and frequent over-use of these determinations, some of which are exotic and require specialized personnel and expensive apparatus have further escalated the already high cost of medical care in several ways. The specter of medical malpractice suits has compelled the physician to practice defensive medicine including ordering unnecessary monitoring procedures, particularly for drug levels. Further impetus has been superadded by the courts and state legislatures; for example, phenylketonuria (PKU) determinations are mandatory in almost all states. Court rulings have held that "common knowledge" not expert testimony, may be all that is necessary to hold the doctor culpable for not ordering a test; nor is expert testimony necessarily required if the Physicians Desk Reference (PDR) or drug company insert recommends that certain tests or monitoring procedures be performed and the doctor fails to comply. (PSRO) programs will force further conformity, leave less to the discretion of the physician and place the government in an ever more regulatory role. Professional societies should take cognizance of the impropriety and danger of the government dictating diagnosis and treatment and should launch a vigorous program to scrutinize pending regulatory legislation and to make official and informed representations to appropriate legislators.     

Ethical issues in supervision.

Suggests the need for a review of current ethical standards regarding supervision of psychotherapists and presents alternative approaches to the supervisor–supervisee relationship. Group or vertical supervision (with peers and senior personnel) may reduce supervisee anxiety and provide more opportunities for objective support. Sharing supervisees may encourage supervisors to compare supervisory problems. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical dilemmas in clinical supervision. 2: Need for guidelines

In this, the second half of this two-part article, the authors focus on ethical dilemmas in clinical supervision. Referring to the case vignettes included in the first part of this article (Vol 7(15): 920-3), the authors highlight how ethical dilemmas can arise and then provide some discussion on how they might be handled. As a result of the discussion, the authors conclude that there is a clear need for a specific set of guidelines to be produced that would help safeguard best practice within clinical supervision and ensure it remains an opportunity to help and support nurses in reflecting on their dilemmas, difficulties and successes (Cutcliffe and Proctor, 1998a). This would prevent supervision from becoming another form of management monitoring which might inadvertently prevent the resolution of intra- and interpersonal issues affecting the care of clients.     

Developing clinical guidelines: present and future legal aspects

This article provides a legal update by discussing Department of Health advice on the legal aspects of clinical guidelines and a recent House of Lords' clinical negligence case. These have important implications for developers of clinical guidelines particularly when discussed in the context of recent government initiatives in legal aid and civil justice reform which will result in the development of increasingly specialist clinical negligence lawyers.     

Client records: Ethical and legal considerations.

Examines the legal and ethical problems associated with keeping files on clients. The major focus is on the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (Canadian Psychological Association, 1988) and the implication of the Code for record keeping by psychologists. Content and types of records kept, including the use of computer assessments and files, are discussed, along with issues of ownership and use of files. Specific suggestions for record keeping, ensuring privacy of computer files, and maintaining record access and retention are made. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical and legal issues in AIDS-related practice.

The AIDS epidemic has presented many new ethical dilemmas regarding psychologists' obligations to their clients and third parties. Both ethical and legal norms remain unsettled in regard to most of these dilemmas. In general, psychologists should strive to protect the privacy of their clients and to promote the welfare of individuals affected by AIDS. When compelling interests of third parties lead to a different result, intrusions on clients' interests should be no greater than necessary. Although a lack of training about AIDS may limit psychologists' competence and constrict their duties to people with AIDS, the duty remains for clinicians to obtain training to remediate such gaps in knowledge or skills and to advocate for resources and protection from discrimination for people affected by AIDS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical issues in the supervision of psychotherapy.

Supervision is the accepted training model for the teaching and learning of psychotherapeutic skills. Although standards of ethical behavior between a psychotherapist and client have been established, specific guidelines for ethical behavior between a supervisor and trainee have not been delineated. Given the importance of the supervisory relationship in the development of competent psychotherapists, the relatively powerless and dependent position of the trainee, and the potential occurrence of therapylike experiences in supervision, the development of guidelines outlining the rights of trainees and responsibilities of supervisors is indicated. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical and legal issues in professional practice transitions.

Transitions such as opening, growing, closing, or relocating a professional practice raise a host of challenging legal and ethical questions. Practitioners must consider a range of issues related to client welfare, records management, professional liability, and relationships with colleagues. Some of the issues include obligations and options when closing or selling a practice, opening a practice in a new community, and altering the nature of an existing practice by adding or shedding participating practitioners. A checklist of issues to consider is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Legal aspects of clinical supervision 1: Employer vs employee

In order to implement clinical supervision some major issues need to be clarified. This article looks at clinical supervision in terms of the relationship between the employer and the employee. It discusses clinical supervision as a contractual requirement and a voluntary system and examines some of the related problems. The implementation of clinical supervision may be limited by the significant cost of training. Possible frameworks for setting up a system for supervision are suggested. Employers need to be adequately informed about the clinical supervision process so that it can become both effective and flexible. The second article in this series will consider legal issues relating to professional accountability, patients' rights, and records and record keeping. These two articles refer to information generated from a workshop held at Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli, in which practitioners looked at some of the legal issues relating to clinical supervision.     

Ethical and legal considerations in marital and family therapy.

Notes insufficiencies in the American Psychological Association's ethical standards for marriage and family therapy. Guidelines regarding therapist responsibility, confidentiality, and informed consent sometimes become ambiguous with individual clients, but they are even more complicated when multiple family members are seen together in therapy. Questions about confidentiality, refusal of treatment, and value of conflicts between the family members and the therapist may arise. Consideration of these questions in terms of their ethical implications is complex and controversial. Yet answers to these questions must also take into account clinical and legal considerations, which sometimes run a collision course with what is desirable from a strictly ethical standpoint. Examples and preliminary recommendations with respect to these issues are examined; further clarification of professional conduct in marital and family therapy is urged. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical aspects]

The relation is considered between ethical choices, morals and deontology in plastic surgery of the male external genitals. Ethics dictates the behavioural model applied by an individual or group in their actions. Professional ethics--deontology--is the collection of duties governing the exercise of a certain profession. Morals are the set of rules governing an individual's life in society. Ethics, deontology and morals do not always convey the same message, since environmental, racial and religious situations, custom, and even fashion can influence a patient's demands, reflecting his desire to improve his quality of life, even only from the purely hedonistic viewpoint, and the specialist's attitude. Surgeons are increasingly tending to bend to these demands or--much worse--even encourage and foster them, with a view to financial considerations. The attitude and ethical choices available are examined in relation to surgery to lengthen or enlarge the penis.     

Ethical aspects of resuscitation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether basal levels of circulating cytokines and selectins exhibit a distinct profile in attack-free, non-colchicine taking familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients compared to normal healthy controls, and to determine the effect of colchicine treatment on these parameters. METHODS: Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and soluble P-, E-, and L-selectin in attack-free, asymptomatic, non-colchicine using FMF patients (n = 11) and in normal controls (n = 10) were studied. Following 2 months of colchicine treatment the same parameters were evaluated again in the FMF patients. RESULTS: Before colchicine treatment the serum levels of all parameters except soluble P-selectin were significantly higher in FMF patients than in controls. After two months of treatment statistically significant decreases were observed in these parameters (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: A distinct profile of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha, and soluble E- and L-selectin levels was observed in FMF patients, which could reflect the presence of sustained inflammation in attack-free FMF patients. The effect of colchicine on these parameters suggests its therapeutic potential.     

Ethical supervision in teaching, research, practice, and administration.

Supervision is a specialized area of psychological activity that has its own foundation of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, which are enhanced by training. As our discipline develops its standards for competent practice in supervision, there is a need to develop ethical guidelines to assist both supervisors and supervisees in maintaining productive working relationships. Organized around the hierarchy of ethical principles comprising the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, the Canadian Psychological Association adopted Ethical Guidelines for Supervision in Psychology: Teaching, Research, Practice, and Administration in early 2009. In this article, each of the four ethical principles (Respect for the Dignity of Persons, Responsible Caring, Integrity in Relationships, and Responsibility to Society) is examined in the context of supervision within the areas of teaching, research, practice, and administration. The history of the guidelines, as well as some of their innovative and unique elements, is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)