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Ethics Corner
Published Online: 13 July 2015

How to Handle Hiring Matters Related to Patients

Claire Zilber, M.D., and APA Ethics CommitteeAuthors Info & Affiliations
Publication: Psychiatrics News
Volume 50, Number 14
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2015.7a25
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We are a small agency with an adolescent residential treatment program and community mental health outpatient program. We are trying to hire a parent advocate. The only applicant is the father of an adolescent who was in our residential treatment program three years ago. Part of the psychiatric staff has raised the concern that if the agency hired this individual, it would create the same ethical issues as a psychiatrist hiring a former patient to work in his or her office and that the psychiatric staff should oppose the hire.
The process for peer advocacy is one that is developing across the country. In this particular case, hiring the father of a former patient would not be unethical. However, it raises confidentiality questions, but that concern should be minimized, as peer advocates should not have access to any patient records.
Note: Since this opinion was written, it has become apparent that there is variability between agencies regarding peer advocates’ access to medical records. Agencies who employ peer advocates need to create specific policies and implement peer advocate training to ensure confidentiality.
Can a psychiatrist use the legal services of a patient who is an attorney to assist in a difficult dissolution of the psychiatrist’s practice from the psychiatrist’s current partner?
No, to do so would be a boundary violation involving dual agency. A physician cannot have both a physician-patient relationship and an attorney-client relationship with the same individual. ■

Biographies

The information in this column is taken from the Opinions of the Ethics Committee on the Principles of Medical Ethics. To access the document, click here and then click on the hyperlink for the Opinions of the Ethics Committee on the Principles of Medical Ethics.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric News
Psychiatrics News
Volume 50 • Number 14 • July 4, 2015 – July 17, 2015
Pages: 1

History

Published in print: July 4, 2015 – July 17, 2015
Published online: 13 July 2015

Keywords

  1. dual agency
  2. psychiatric ethics
  3. Opinion of Medical Ethics with Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry
  4. patient advocacy

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Claire Zilber, M.D., and APA Ethics Committee
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