“Avoiding Sour Notes and Broken Records: Guidance for Creating and Maintaining Effective Patient Records”
9:00 am – 10:30 am (1.5 CEs)
Presenter Information: Bradley Jordan Muldrow, Esq.
As a CAMFT staff attorney, Bradley J. Muldrow, Esq. takes member phone calls regarding law and ethics issues and contributes articles on those subjects to CAMFT's publication, the Therapist. Prior to joining CAMFT’s legal team, Brad worked on litigation and regulatory matters as an attorney for San Diego Gas & Electric Company.
Since becoming an attorney, Brad has given law and ethics presentations to attorneys and judges as a member of the J. Clifford Wallace Inn of Court. He has also served as a board member for the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Foundation, a San Diego-based nonprofit.
General Information/Description
You've heard the expression "if it wasn't documented, it didn't happen" over and over since your first day of grad school, but what exactly are you supposed to document each session? Some of your colleagues record as few notes as possible to reduce their risk of liability. Other therapists you know record as many notes as possible to reduce their risk of liability. Do you have to use the SOAP notes format or is that only for therapists with insurance contracts? What does the law require?
During this 90-minute webinar, CAMFT staff attorney Brad Muldrow will bring clarity to your records-related confusion by providing a helpful overview of your legal duty to create and maintain patient records. He will address key topics, such as: BBS requirements and ethical rules pertaining to patient records; purposes and approaches for note-taking; supervisors' responsibilities to oversee their supervisees' recordkeeping; record retention; state and federal laws governing record storage; and important distinctions between the legal requirements for storing physical records vs. electronic records.
Break 10:30 am – 10:45 am
“Guidelines for Writing Letters and Offering Professional Opinions”
10:45 am – 12:15 pm (1.5 CEs)
Presenter Information: Alain Montgomery, Esq.
Alain Lance Montgomery, Esq., is a member of the State Bar of California. Alain received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Prior to joining the CAMFT legal department, Alain worked in public interest law as a legal advisor for the Superior Court of California where he helped self-represented parties navigate the complexities of small claims litigation. As a member of the CAMFT legal department, Alain has served as part of the support staff for the CAMFT Ethics Committee and has represented the Association at various state regulatory board meetings. After graduating from college and before attending law school, Alain worked as a ski instructor at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort.
General Information/Description
Therapists are asked to write letters and/or offer professional opinions on behalf of a client. During this 90-minute presentation, CAMFT Staff Attorney Alain Montgomery will review the key legal and ethical standards for a therapist to consider before either providing a letter to a client or offering a professional opinion.
LUNCH 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
“Updates and Resources for Providers Navigating Managed Care in California”
1:15 pm– 2:45 pm (1.5 CEs)
Presenter Information: Sara Jasper, Esq.
A member of the State Bar of California since 2008, Sara Jasper, Esq. joined CAMFT as a Staff Attorney in 2011. Before coming to CAMFT, she worked as the Legal Liaison and Administrative Officer for the Sacramento Police Department and as an Associate at Middleton, Young & Minney, LLP where she practiced education and employment law. During law school, Sara clerked for the California Judicial Council, Center for Children, Families and the Courts and for the National Center for Youth Law. Since joining CAMFT, Sara has become a Certified Association Executive and earned her certificate in Nonprofit Organization Management. As a CAMFT staff attorney, Brad takes member phone calls regarding law and ethics issues and contributes articles on those subjects to CAMFT's publication, the Therapist. Prior to joining CAMFT’s legal team, Brad worked on litigation and regulatory matters as an attorney for San Diego Gas & Electric Company.
General Information/Description
California’s managed care systems are complex and often difficult for even the most seasoned providers to navigate. During her 90-minute presentation, CAMFT Staff Attorney Sara Jasper will provide a brief overview of managed care, review new laws intended to improve patients’ access to care and offer resources designed to support providers and patients. Ms. Jasper will also discuss the types of audits managed care providers may be subject to and the laws that govern providers’ responses.
Break 2:45 pm – 3:00 pm
“Tarasoff and Dangerous Patients”
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm (1.5 CEs)
Presenter Information: Mike Griffin, LCSW, Esq.
Michael Griffin, Esq., LCSW has been a member of the CAMFT legal team since 2007. A graduate of the USC School of Social Work and Chapman University School of Law, Mr. Griffin earned his LCSW in 1982 and his California license as an Attorney in 2002. He has a broad professional background in various mental health settings (including Western Youth Services in Orange County, California, and Rady Children’s Psychiatry Dep’t in San Diego) as a clinician, administrator, supervisor, clinical case manager, school program coordinator, and outpatient clinic director, and has served as an oral examiner for LCSW candidates. In addition to his work for CAMFT, Mr. Griffin is a practicing psychotherapist with adults, adolescents and children in Laguna Niguel, California.
General Information/Description
This 1.5-hour workshop will discuss key issues involved when working with dangerous clients, including, relevant standards of care, the “duty to protect” (based upon Tarasoff v. Regents of Univ. of California, and Civil Code §43,92), “patient communication” (based upon Ewing v. Goldstein and Ewing v. Northridge Hospital Center), the “duty to report”(based upon Welfare & Institutions Code, sections 8100(b)(1) and 8105(c)), and relevant exceptions to confidentiality.
