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Learn to Help Your Patient in Just 5 Minutes

• Read this first: One-page screening and intervention tool
• Use this safety plan with your patient
• Give your patient these helpful phone numbers
• Learn about Mandatory Reporting Laws

If you want to learn more...

• Step One: Get Acquainted with Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
• Step Two: Learn how to screen, assess and intervene
• Step Three: Training
• Step Four: Learn About Effects of IPV on Health Care Providers
• Step Five: Make sure you understand the Mandatory Reporting Laws of your state and local police procedures
  
  

Step One: Get Acquainted with Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

• What is IPV?
• Where can I find fact sheets on IPV?
• Review survivor testimonies*
• Order and watch this video of survivor testimonies

* Survivor stories are the most powerful way to understand what IPV is and how it impacts health and well-being. We urge you to start here.

Step Two: Learn how to screen, assess and intervene

• There are many one-page tools (SAID, HITs, RADAR) which employ mneumonics to aid providers in remembering the steps in screening for IPV.
• Read some of the national screening guidelines for IPV.
• Understand your state's Mandatory Reporting Requirements if they have them.
• Watch this award winning training video on screening for abuse in the health care setting.
• How do I make my clinic more supportive of IPV disclosure?
• Learn the phone numbers and local resources available in your location.

Step Three: Training

• Ask your local shelter for training.
• Visit websites focused on IPV training.
• For providers who see children exposed to violence order Shelter from the Storm: Clinical Intervention with Children Affected by Domestic Violence from the Child Witness to Violence Project.
• See sample powerpoint presentation on IPV screening.
• Read more about IPV - see our annotated bibliography.

Step Four: Learn About Effects of IPV on Health Care Providers

• To learn about health care providers as survivors of IPV visit the Kaiser Silent Witness display online.
• To learn about vicarious traumatization by visiting the Office for Victims of Crime or doing the exercises in the workbook: Transforming the Pain: A Workbook on Vicarious Traumatization by Karen Saakvitne and Laurie Anne Pearlman.
• Listen to a podcast about LEAP’s vicarious traumatization training curriculum

Step Five: Make sure you understand the Mandatory Reporting Laws of your state and local police procedures

• All States: When to Report IPV
• In California: When to Report IPV
• California and San Francisco mandatory reporting forms: California OES 290 and San Francisco supplement
• San Francisco flowchart: Understand the process for mandatory reporting of IPV injuries
• San Francisco mandatory reporting of IPV: Fact sheets for patients in English, Spanish, Chinese
• Summary information and articles on IPV laws for all states prepared by Futures Without Violence
• Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws
• Summary of elder abuse reporting laws
• Familiarize Yourself with Local Reporting Guidelines in California
• Frequently Asked Questions: San Francisco County

All States: When to Report IPV

Laws regarding mandatory reporting of IPV vary from state to state. Before inquiring about IPV it is important that you learn the details about your state’s mandatory reporting laws for both intimate partner violence, child abuse and elder abuse. You may consult with your state’s Bar Association for the most up to date information or use a search engine to search for your state and “domestic violence laws.”

In California: When to Report IPV

In California, providers who are providing medical treatment for a physical condition to a patient suffering from an injury known or suspected to have been inflicted by another person is required to report the known or suspected assault to the local police authorities. For instructions regarding this law, please see summary instructions prepared for Futures Without Violence.

Familiarize Yourself with Local Reporting Guidelines in California

In California, it is very important to understand that both the specific procedures for reporting IPV and the police protocol and response to that report vary from county to county. Providers should familiarize themselves with the policies and procedures of law enforcement in their practicing county. Providers and health care institutions should work with law enforcement authorities to establish protocols regarding the response to mandatory health care reports that maximize safety and minimize risk for victims of IPV.

In California, providers should understand that the Mandatory Health Care Report (initiated by a health care provider) is different from an official police report that a victim would make directly to police. If a victim of IPV would like emergency assistance, call 911 immediately. If a victim of IPV would like to file a police report about the IPV and is not in acute danger, call police dispatch. If the victim of IPV agrees, it is helpful for someone from the health care team to stay with the patient and provide advocacy and support during the report to police.

Frequently Asked Questions: San Francisco County only

The questions below apply to San Francisco County only. For a one page summary of Mandatory Reporting in San Francisco County, see see this flowchart.

• If a patient does not want to report, do I still have to make one?
• How do I properly file a health practitioner report?
• What happens when I file a report?
• Can reporting result in negative repercussions for my patient?

If a patient does not want to report, do I still have to make one?

Legally, you are required to report whether or not the patient consents to a report, even though there might be countervailing ethical principles. You should find out why the patient does not want the report made, and advocate on behalf of the patient's needs and concerns with the authorities. You can indicate on the San Francisco supplemental form if the patient does not desire police contact and if the patient believes police involvement will increase danger.

How do I properly file a health practitioner report?

Telephone: If the patient wishes to meet with law enforcement immediately or the provider assesses that the patient has near lethal circumstances and/or a life threatening injury, call 911 or 415-553-8090. For patients who do not wish to meet with law enforcement immediately or at all, and do not have near lethal circumstances and/or life threatening injury, call 415-553-9220 and speak with the Special Victims Unit representative, or follow instructions on the voicemail after hours.

Written report: Within 48 hours, transmit the mandatory health care reporting form via fax to 415-734-3086, e-mail to sfpd.svumedrec@sfgov.org, or mail to:

San Francisco Police Department Special Victims Unit
850 Bryant St., Room 500
San Francisco, CA 94103

What happens when I file a report?

Your report is kept on file at the Special Victims Unit at the police department. According to current police department protocol, a Special Victims Unit assignment officer will review your report and follow up with the patient. If the patient has indicated that they do not want any police involvement, a confidential domestic violence advocate will make the first contact to the patient. In some cases, police may still contact the patient.

If your patient would like police intervention or follow up, you must call 911 for emergencies and 415-553-0123 to make an official police report. An officer will come to your location to make the report. Remember that your mandatory health practitioner report is not an official police report. Depending on the circumstances, the police report may lead to arrest, prosecution and/or incarceration.

Can reporting result in negative repercussions for my patient?

Providers should be aware of the potential harmful consequences mandatory reporting presents for patients. Reporting may put battered patients at risk for retaliation if police intervene against patient’s wishes. It may deter patients from seeking health care or being candid with their clinicians about the causes of their injuries.

Reporting without patient consent infringes on personal autonomy and may also re-victimize patients by controlling their life decisions. The abrogation of provider patient confidentiality that may result from reporting is also harmful and may undermine the patient’s trust in their providers. In San Francisco, many of these concerns may be alleviated as the police response is largely dictated by the request of the providers/patients.