Title: Demystifying Ethics and Law for Telebehavioral Health

Presenters: LoriAnn Stretch, PhD and Tiffany Rush-Wilson, PhD

Description: Part 1: This webinar will provide counselors with basic information to help them understand what telebehavioral health is. It will provide an overview of ethical & legal guidelines related to telebehavioral health and distance supervision. Topics will include: defining telebehavioral health; legal implications of providing distance supervision; understanding the difference between ethics versus law; order of authority in law and ethics; HIPAA compliance; identifiers of protected health information; HIPAA breaches; and business associate agreements.

Part 2: This webinar will review resources to help you locate your state laws and regulations on telehealth as well look at specific challenges to practicing telehealth and distance supervision. Topics will include: resources on telemedicine/telehealth laws; current ethical standards related to telebehavioral health and distance supervision; client screening; informed consent; confidentiality; verification; disclosures for telebehavioral health; separating personal and professional accounts; distance supervision relationships; supervision records; research; and best practices.

Part 3: This webinar will provide counselors with additional standards to help them practice telebehavioral health in an ethical manner. It will also provide resources on the use of technology in telehealth. Topics will include: additional ethical standards related to telebehavioral health; use of technology in telehealth; resources to help you locate insurance companies who reimburse; residency laws for practicing telehealth across state laws; liability for practicing across state lines; social media policies; encryption; intervention and reference applications.

Part 4: This webinar will provide counselors with various ethical decision-making models for telebehavioral health and distance supervision. It will also provide several resources to help you plan out your next steps in becoming an ethical telebehavioral health counselor. Topics will include: professionalism; ethical decision-making models; supervision responsibilities; case studies; next step planning; resources to help you plan your next steps in telebehavioral health; personal development plans; board certified-telemental health providers; and changing the technology you're using for telebehavioral health.