Your health record contains information about you and your health. This is called Protected Health Information(PHI). This information, can identify you and is related to your past, present, or future physical or mental health or status and related health care services. Thus, over the past two decades, there is significant progress in the field of informatics to develop a systematic IT health system. Telemedicine is the use of electronic communications and IT to provide clinical services where patients are located in different locations.
HIPAA guidelines for telemedicine apply to any medical organization or health organization that provides remote service to patients in their own homes or community centers. Physical security mentioned in HIPAA includes workplace use, device and media and facility access controls. The HIPAA Safety Act has been revised due to the threat of cyber attacks on health care in recent years.
Guidelines
The American Psychological Association provides guidelines for physicians who use telecommunications to treat patients. Moreover, their advice can also apply to those who use teletherapy services.
1. Do your best to understand the technology you are using, including any safety rules required.
2. Monitor your use of social media, and be aware that your search history may be a security breach.
3. Aware of electronic communication has a high risk of becoming public.
4. Use strong passwords, data encryption, and other similar security measures
Choose high-quality services
So your private concerns are not “online”, but much broader than most people think. They usually adhere to the rules established to protect customer privacy. Thus, work with a reputable telehealth agency that can ensure that all privacy regulations. Also, ensure if everything happens to satisfy all HIPAA, FERPA, and COPPA standards that ensure the privacy of all times and data.
Code Conduct for Online Physicians
Several professional organizations have submitted guidelines for health communication ethics. For example, the National Board of Certified Advisers (NBCC) is a single licensing body that adheres to a strict policy for distance service providers. The website has the policy and its list of standards.
Know the application policies
If you are participating in a teletherapy app, make sure that those policies comply with the laws of the states and your practices. Also, only work with applications that can completely protect customer data and recommend evidence-based and effective treatment options.
Encryption
Telehealth uses highly secure video chat, encrypted to meet HIPAA privacy rules. Encryption is the process by which data is transmitted between third-party devices. Data is unblocked by those who have “encryption keys.” When you join a telehealth session, only those who are invited to that session (you, your therapist, and other members of the treatment group, if applicable) have keys. This ensures that the uninvited third party cannot access the video or audio, even if they can access the program.
Conclusion
Teletherapy is a rapidly growing and popular topic among therapists and counselors across the country. It is a hot topic in the medical community. And, patients love the freedom therapist can give them in terms of flexibility and placement. The option to have a chat from the comfort of your home appeals to clients for many reasons. These reasons include privacy, the luxury of having a private conversation, and the flexibility of planning. Moreover, this program allows the client to choose a safe, private place, wherever they feel comfortable participating in the session.
This software is safer and more secure than most video conference programs, such as Skype and FaceTime. Moreover, telehealth has certain benefits for rural and disadvantaged people. It is best for its cost-effectiveness while providing real-time tools to promote health, prevent disease, and enable home management of chronic conditions. Therefore now, some websites offer 100% teletherapy and add this service to an existing practice.
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