Confidentiality is an important ethical and legal concept for chemical dependency counselors and their clients. This article reviews the issues relating to confidentiality raised by , identifies several problem areas from that 1996 article, and offers additional information about confidentiality not included in the earlier article. Chemical dependency counselors are urged to consider the federal law covering the confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records in their practice. presented a solid summary of legal and ethical requirements relating to confidentiality of which chemical dependency counselors should be aware. However, the article neglected to cover several important points, and several misleading statements are in need of clarification.
I n a recent issue of the Journal ofAddictions & Oflender Counseling (JAOC),
Exploring the ramifications of the principle of confidentiality for chemical dependency counselors is indeed important to the practitioner. However, errors in this area can be critical, and a response to the article is warranted. In the current article, I attempt to highlight the more important areas that are in need of review. Following the sound approach of Manhal-Baugus's article, which divided confidentiality issues into two groups (legal and ethical), I cover several areas from each.
LEGAL ISSUES
Manhal-Baugus (1 9%) correctly identified several of the legal exceptions to confidentiality as the Code of Federal Regulations (1994) provides. Unfortunately, her review was not comprehensive because five significant legally permitted exceptions were omitted. Each one is briefly examined in the following section.