Telehealth Certification Institute

Telehealth is changing the way that patients can access health care, but when new technology meets decades-old federal regulations, tensions will necessarily arise.

When it comes to the intersection between telehealth and HIPAA regulation, there are many common misconceptions about how to run a telehealth practice while maintaining compliance with federal privacy and security standards.

Before we dive into some of the particularities of HIPAA as they apply to telehealth professionals, let's look at some of the basics of HIPAA regulation.

How necessary is professional liability insurance? What if I own my own business? If there is a breach of client data, am I covered? 

To answer these questions and more, we asked for help from CPH and Associates, a professional liability insurance agency specialized in the mental health field since 2001. Below, CPH shares some common questions they hear from their insureds in relation to malpractice insurance and telehealth specifically.

In this video interview, Ray Barrett of the Telehealth Certification Institute sits down with internationally known cognitive-behavioral researcher and psychiatrist, Dr. Jesse Wright. During the interview, Dr. Wright shares how his decades of research experience have helped validate the clinical power of computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT). Dr. Wright emphasizes that computer-assisted therapy is not about eliminating the person in the process, but “use computer programs to help build skills, teach some of the basic concepts, rehearse patients, help them do…homework or action plans, and do some of the routine things that cognitive therapists often have to do.”

Dr. Wright started researching the potential of using computer-assisted technology or multimedia as a hybrid therapy model in the 90s, so there are numerous articles and studies that point to the effectiveness of CCBT. In fact, Dr. Wright found that the remission rates were “more than double in people who received computer-assisted cognitive therapy” compared to treatment as usual.

Therapists are rapidly turning to telehealth as a flexible way to conduct their telemental health sessions, but sometimes the client’s strong aversion to technology is the first barrier that needs to be addressed. According to the Community Living Campaign, access, training, and equipment are the three pillars of technology literacy. Without them, clients may not have the digital literacy skills they need to engage fully in their telemental health session. In this article, you’ll find practical tips to close the tech gap between you and your client!

As a digital advocacy group, The National Digital Inclusion Alliance suggests that you first identify your client’s level of skillfulness with technology and what they’ll need to succeed. Once you’ve nailed down the barriers, you can assess your readiness to coach the client through the skill acquisition process. This could involve navigating a ZOOM log-in screen, adjusting a client’s microphone, or configuring the client’s speaker.   

These are four easy-to-remember questions that can keep you on track when developing a client-centered technology plan:

As technology rapidly advances, healthcare providers are increasingly in need of phone, texting, and fax services that are user-friendly for patients and providers, HIPAA-secure, and under the control of the provider for security reasons. Recently, Ray Barrett interviewed Pankaj Gupta, founder of IPlum, on the topic of meeting technology needs in the healthcare community. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a forceful period of transformation in the healthcare field, as economic pressures and safety concerns have intersected with medical and mental health needs. In response, healthcare organizations are pivoting to offer multi-layered treatment plans with a focus on telehealth.

Across the country, organizations have tasked telehealth directors, managers, or telemedicine program coordinators with implementing an ethical and practical telehealth transition plan. But directing a telehealth program is a complicated endeavor; few practices are prepared to effectively launch compliant, large-scale telehealth operations. Professionals in these roles need to understand the full scope of managing telehealth services (from strategy to implementation and evaluation). Learning about these competencies can help directors avoid pitfalls, maximize efficiency, invest in a long-term utilization plan, and increase satisfaction for customers and clinicians.

In a notoriously digital age, the healthcare industry has been the newest convert to online, virtual, and distance-based telehealth technology. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the Alliance for Connected Care, and the American Telemedicine Association—with enthusiastic support from 22 experts on various points of the healthcare spectrum—have formed a synergistic Taskforce on Telehealth Policy (TTP). The group recently launched a forward-thinking campaign that targets three fundamental categories:

1. The cost of telehealth service expansion (programmatic concerns).
2. Protections and safeguards for patients in remote environments (patient concerns).
3. Data flow, care integration, and quality control (system-level concerns).

Jorge Mastrapa, the co-founder of the cybersecurity company CySeSo, discusses his user-friendly approach to helping healthcare organizations feel more secure. As an MBA/PhD with an executive background in analysis, strategic development, and international business, Jorge brings a wealth of experience to his consultations. CySeSo helps organizations keep their patient data safe from predatory digital opportunists.

Most of CySeSo’s customers are individual practitioners or medium-sized healthcare companies seeking end-to-end cyber solutions. Issues range from security breaches to comprehensive disaster recovery scenarios. Regardless of their specific concerns, Jorge individualizes consultations to construct a security plan around the existing business.