Individualized assessment moderates the impact of HIPAA privacy rules.
In this comment, I express appreciation of Erard's (this issue) review, and urge psychologists to continue to protect test security. I disagree with Erard's belief that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is salient for nonhealth forensic issues. I then review some ways in which individualized assessment practices can moderate the negative impact of the HIPPA privacy rules. Assessors can use tests as a ground forjoint exploration of the client's experience, behavior, and their contexts. Clients may later ask for a review of test data and collaborative life findings, but they rarely are interested in acquiring test records. Attorneys, after discovering that assessment conclusions are based largely on events/contexts provided by the client and others, are less interested in acquiring test records that the psychologist used as tools rather than as evidence for conclusions.
Department of Psychology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282, USA. fischer@duq.edu
Constance T
CT
Fischer
D003219:Confidentiality / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D020408:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; D006801:Humans; D011584:Psychology / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States