H.R. 6074 (“Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020”) is an $8.3 billion COVID-19 funding package that was signed into law on March 6, 2020, to address issues that arise during the coronavirus public health emergency. H.R.6074 includes a provision to temporarily lift restrictions and implement the wider use of telehealth services by Medicare beneficiaries.
In order for a social worker to retain their license in NY they must complete 36 hours of continuing education every three years by a CE provider who has been approved by the NY Social Work Board. Only 12 of these hours can consist of self-study activities. Live webinar courses are considered live hours.
Every day patients are transitioning back home from hospitals. Often, they are not able to do all that they once were able to do. This is not only for the patient but also for the family. Medical social workers who provide home health services get an insider’s view of what life is like for the patient and their family. This allows them to be more effective and accessible.
I am excited to announce that the Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is now an approved provider for continuing education by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners and the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work.
LCSWs and LMHCs in NY can now earn CE hours while qualifying to become a credentialed telemental health provider.
Collaboration at its best! Two years ago, NASW partnered with ASWB, CSWE, and CSWA. They created the Task Force for Technology Standards in Social Work Practice, which produced a thorough set of standards for the use of technology in social work. In 2016, the task force released a draft for comments to the public. After a careful review of the comments received and many other sources of best practices, they released the NASW, ASWB, CSWE, & CSWA Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice.
I am glad to announce that the Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC, is now approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) as a provider of continuing education.
Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, #1609, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 05/02/2021 – 05/02/2024.
North Carolina is greatly utilizing telemental health. The Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP) in NC anticipates connecting eighty or more hospital emergency departments with psychiatric assessments and consultations. Most major insurance companies in NC are reimbursing for telebehavioral health services. The Center for Rural Health Innovation’s Health-e-Schools program provides school-based telehealth services to thirty-three schools in four counties. North Carolina has a proposed telehealth parity law, HB 283. Both Licensed Professional Counselors and Social Workers in North Carolina can now receive supervision hours through the use of technology.