Role Definition and Confidentiality in the Drug Treatment Process

This national survey found that responses to confidentiality boundaries were determined by role definition. The extent to which confidentiality was viewed as a necessity depended upon the job that the individual held. Those individuals dealing with the drug abuser from an apprehension and corrections standpoint tended to see confidentiality in a limited sense, feeling that it pertained only to background material and medical records. Those in counseling positions saw confidentiality in much broader terms, in both its scope of protection and importance to the counseling situation.