BHP Ethics & Professional Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A BHP discovers that a colleague is falsifying treatment records to meet billing requirements. What is the most appropriate first step?
- Ignore it since it does not directly affect clients
- Report the behavior internally through the organization's chain of command (Correct answer)
- Immediately report the colleague to licensing authorities without any internal reporting
- Confront the colleague publicly during a team meeting
Correct answer: Report the behavior internally through the organization's chain of command
Ethical standards require BHPs to address unethical conduct, typically starting with internal reporting mechanisms before escalating to external bodies.
Question 2: Which principle best describes a BHP's obligation to act in the client's best interest rather than the clinician's own interests?
- Autonomy
- Justice
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Fidelity
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence refers to the duty to promote client welfare and act in the client's best interest above the clinician's own.
Question 3: A client requests a copy of their mental health records. Under HIPAA, a covered entity must provide access within how many days?
- 10 days
- 30 days (Correct answer)
- 60 days
- 90 days
Correct answer: 30 days
HIPAA requires covered entities to provide access to records within 30 days, with a possible one-time 30-day extension.
Question 4: A BHP is assigned a new client who is the spouse of a close personal friend. This situation represents a:
- Therapeutic alliance
- Dual relationship (Correct answer)
- Countertransference issue only
- Standard referral situation
Correct answer: Dual relationship
A dual relationship exists when a clinician has both a professional and a personal relationship with a client or someone closely connected to the client.
Question 5: The ethical principle of veracity in behavioral health practice primarily refers to:
- Maintaining client confidentiality at all times
- Being truthful and honest in all professional communications (Correct answer)
- Providing equal services to all clients regardless of background
- Avoiding harm to clients through clinical interventions
Correct answer: Being truthful and honest in all professional communications
Veracity is the ethical obligation to be truthful and honest with clients, colleagues, and in all professional documentation.
Question 6: When a BHP suspects a colleague may be impaired due to substance use, the primary ethical obligation is to:
- Cover for the colleague until they seek help on their own
- Protect client safety by reporting concerns through appropriate channels (Correct answer)
- Wait until a client complaint is filed before taking action
- Handle it as a purely personal matter between colleagues
Correct answer: Protect client safety by reporting concerns through appropriate channels
Client safety is paramount, and BHPs have an ethical obligation to report colleague impairment that could harm clients through appropriate professional or supervisory channels.
Question 7: A BHP receives a subpoena for a client's records in a child custody dispute. The client has NOT provided a release. What should the BHP do first?
- Immediately release all records to comply with the subpoena
- Consult with an attorney and notify the client before releasing records (Correct answer)
- Refuse to respond to the subpoena under any circumstances
- Destroy the records to prevent disclosure
Correct answer: Consult with an attorney and notify the client before releasing records
A subpoena alone does not override privilege; BHPs should consult legal counsel and notify the client so the client may seek to quash or limit the subpoena.
BHP Ethics & Professional Standards 2
A BHP discovers that a colleague is falsifying treatment records to meet billing requirements.
What is the most appropriate first step?