Educational Objectives
- Describe how to maintain a website that meets ethical and legal requirements and reasonably adheres to professional guidelines
- Take necessary legal (e.g. HIPAA and others) and ethical precautions to use modern payment systems, including credit cards and online payments, in private practice
- Discover how the clinician shows up on the Internet and determine what ethical risks lie in his/her presence there
- Communicate with clients using electronic tools in a manner that is compliant with legal and ethical standards, including HIPAA
- Professionally and ethically navigate advice and marketing pressures related to promoting a 21st-century private practice, including online reviews from clients
- Describe the risks to confidentiality and potential clinician liability in maintaining a “paperless” office
Ethics/Legal Documents Cited
- AAMFT Code of Ethics (2012)
- ACA Code of Ethics (2005)
- APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2002)
- NASW Code of Ethics (2008)
- NBCC Code of Ethics (2012)
- HIPAA Administrative Simplification (2006)
- HITECH Act (2009)
- HIPAA/HITECH Omnibus Rule (2013)