Preventing Medical Errors: Best Practices for Mental Health Professionals E040L Expired

This course has been updated. The new version is located here.

Course Summary

This course will examine the impact of medical errors on patients in mental health settings. It will reference best practices and ethical guidelines that can help to reduce and prevent medical errors. The course reviews the behavioral health goals set by The Joint Commission and ties in ethics codes for psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and counselors. The course examines root cause analysis and applies it to medical errors (and prevention of those errors) in mental health settings related to competence, cultural competence, informed consent, HIPPA, confidentiality, mandatory abuse reporting, duty to protect, responding to suicide risk, failure to detect medical conditions, medication errors, and assessment errors. Case vignettes throughout the learning material highlight key learning points.

Practice Level: Intermediate

Course Format

This course contains downloadable online lessons (PDF) and a practice test. When you’re ready, purchase the course by clicking the “Add To Cart” button. This will let you take the test, complete the course evaluation and receive your certificate for CE credits.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals for behavioral health, approaches to prevent medical errors, and the consequences of medical errors.
• Explain Root Cause Analysis processes to evaluate medical errors.
• Describe the ethical guidelines related to competence (including multicultural competence), informed consent, confidentiality and mandated reporting.
• Describe suicide assessment and assessment of medical conditions that present as psychological problems.

Course Syllabus

Author

Heidi Dalzell, Psy.D.

Heidi Dalzell, Psy.D. is a psychologist in private practice specializing in eating disorders, as well as dual addictions, trauma, domestic violence and depression. She conducts individual and couples therapy with adolescent and adult clients. In addition to authoring numerous mental health courses she frequently blogs and writes newspaper articles about mental health topics.

Accreditation Approval Statements

CE4Less.com, provider #1115, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/8/24-8/8/27.

Social workers completing this course receive 2 ethics continuing education credits.

This course has been approved by CE4Less.com, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #91345, CE4Less.com is responsible for all aspects of the programing.

We are committed to providing our learners with unbiased information. CE4Less never accepts commercial support and our authors have no significant financial or other conflicts of interest pertaining to the material.