Address The Following In A Progress Note (Without Violating HIPAA Regulations)

• Progress and/or lack of progress toward the mutually agreed-upon client goals (reference the Treatment plan—progress toward goals)
• Modification(s) of the treatment plan that were made based on progress/lack of progress
• Clinical impressions regarding diagnosis and/or symptoms
• Relevant psychosocial information or changes from original assessment (i.e., marriage, separation/divorce, new relationships, move to a new house/apartment, change of job, etc.)
• Safety issues
• Clinical emergencies/actions taken
• Medications used by the patient (even if the nurse psychotherapist was not the one prescribing them)
• Treatment compliance/lack of compliance
• Clinical consultations
• Collaboration with other professionals (i.e., phone consultations with physicians, psychiatrists, marriage/family therapists, etc.)
• Therapist’s recommendations, including whether the client agreed to the recommendations
• Referrals made/reasons for making referrals
• Termination/issues that are relevant to the termination process (i.e., client informed of loss of insurance or refusal of insurance company to pay for continued sessions)
• Issues related to consent and/or informed consent for treatment
• Information concerning child abuse and/or elder or dependent adult abuse, including documentation as to where the abuse was reported
• Information reflecting the therapist’s exercise of clinical judgment

Note: Be sure to exclude any information that should not be found in a discoverable progress note.

Part 2: Privileged Note (10 points)

Research the definition and purpose of a privileged psychotherapy note.  Prepare a privileged note that you would use to document your impressions of therapeutic progress/therapy sessions for your client.

• The privileged note should include items that you would not typically include in a note as part of the clinical record.
• Explain why the items you included in the privileged note would not be included in the client’s progress note.
• Explain whether your preceptor uses privileged notes, and if so, describe the type of information he or she might include. If not, explain why.