Conflict of Interest Policy
At its meeting of April 15, 2008, the Board of Trustees adopted the following Conflict of Interest Policy:
A conflict of interest exists when an employee, officer, Trustee or staff member takes actions or has interests that make it difficult to perform the Institute’s work objectively or effectively. Conflicts of interest may arise when one of the interested parties, or a member of his/her family, receives improper personal benefits as a result of his/her position with AEI. Improper benefits include anything of value offered in an attempt to inappropriately influence decisions. A perceived conflict of interest may be just as damaging to AEI as the actual existence of such a conflict. Therefore, actual as well as perceived conflicts must be avoided. When faced with a real or potential conflict of interest, a full and prompt written disclosure must be made to the Executive Director before taking any action.
This policy does not attempt to describe each and every possible conflict that could develop, but the following are some specific guidelines:
Relationship with Clients – clients are entitled to absolute confidentiality of their identity, prognosis, diagnosis and treatment history under this policy, HIPAA, local privacy laws, and APA Ethical guidelines. The AEI Clinician’s Manual contains detailed guidelines for protecting client rights.
