Ensuring Privacy and Confidentiality in Social Work Through Intentional Omissions of Information in Client Information System

Course overview

Course Description: This course examines the ethical dimensions of privacy and confidentiality in social work practice, with a specific focus on how practitioners make decisions about what information to record in digital client information systems (CIS). Drawing on a qualitative study of 20 expert interviews conducted in Germany, the course explores the phenomenon of intentional omissions-situations in which social workers deliberately withhold or limit the documentation of sensitive client information to protect privacy, preserve trust, and uphold professional ethics. Participants will examine how factors such as legal obligations, organizational structures, technology limitations, and the nature of the professional-client relationship influence what ultimately appears in digital case records. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate, and advanced-level practitioners who wish to learn more about privacy, confidentiality, and documentation ethics in social work practice. It is also a good resource for licensed therapists who need continuing education in ethics for license renewal. Authors: Schneider Learning Objectives: This course will provide a professional with detailed information about privacy, confidentiality, and documentation ethics in social work client information systems. Specifically, the practitioner will: Describe the phenomenon of intentional omissions in social work client information systems and identify the key factors that influence what practitioners choose to record. Apply ethical principles of privacy and confidentiality to analyze case documentation decisions that involve sensitive or personally identifiable client information. Evaluate the implications of selective data omissions for the development and use of AI-based decision support systems in social work. Citation: Schneider, D. (2022). Ensuring privacy and confidentiality in social work through intentional omissions of information in client information systems: A qualitative study of available and non-available data. Digital Society, 1, 26.