Medical Ethics & Patient Rights Flashcards
7 cards from real HSP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Medical Ethics & Patient Rights flashcards as text
A 15-year-old seeks treatment for substance abuse without parental knowledge, which is permitted under state law. The parent later contacts the psychologist demanding information. What should the psychologist do?
Answer: Decline to disclose, respecting the minor's legally protected confidentiality in this context
Many states grant minors the right to consent to substance abuse treatment without parental involvement, and this statutory privilege overrides general parental access rights.
Which doctrine requires that patients receive sufficient information about risks, benefits, and alternatives before consenting to a procedure?
Answer: Informed consent
Informed consent requires disclosure of material information so a competent patient can make a voluntary, knowledgeable decision about proposed treatment.
A psychologist's client reveals they are HIV-positive and is sexually active with a partner who does not know the diagnosis. The client refuses to disclose. What is the psychologist's BEST course of action under the APA Ethics Code?
Answer: Use clinical judgment, consult, and consider applicable law before deciding whether to disclose
APA Ethics Code 4.05 permits (but does not require) disclosure to protect third parties; the psychologist must weigh duty to protect, applicable state law, and clinical factors.
Which of the following best describes 'therapeutic privilege' as an exception to informed consent?
Answer: A clinician withholding information when disclosure would likely cause direct harm that outweighs the benefit of disclosure
Therapeutic privilege is a narrow doctrine permitting non-disclosure when revealing certain information would foreseeably and substantially harm the patient, though it is applied very restrictively.
A patient demands to review their psychotherapy notes. Under HIPAA, how are these notes treated differently from the general medical record?
Answer: Psychotherapy notes are carved out from HIPAA's patient access right and may be withheld
HIPAA specifically exempts 'psychotherapy notes' (process notes kept separate from the medical record) from the patient's general right of access to their records.
An ethics committee is reviewing a psychologist's dual relationship with a former client. Which factor would MOST reduce the ethical concern?
Answer: Significant time has passed and the new relationship is in a clearly different context
The passage of substantial time and a clearly different, non-exploitative context are among the factors APA identifies as mitigating the risk of post-termination relationships.
Which of the following represents the ethical concept of 'justice' in the context of healthcare psychology?
Answer: Providing fair, equitable access to services and distributing benefits and burdens fairly
Justice in bioethics refers to the fair distribution of health resources and the equitable treatment of patients regardless of background or status.