A podcast where we help mental health group practice owners ethically and effectively leverage tech to improve their practices.
Group Practice Tech will drop episodes about weekly — 4 times per month, to be exact.
Episodes will be everywhere from 5 minutes to an hour, depending on what we’re talking about. We let the topic set the length.
Liath Dalton is PCT’s director and a co-owner. Liath is especially passionate about helping therapists be resourced and supported in navigating the security compliance process and identifying the solutions and processes that meet the particular needs of their practices. Liath’s consultation area of expertise is focused on selecting the right combination of services and tech that not only meet the legal-ethical needs of mental health practices, but also the functionality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness needs as well.
Evan Dumas works in the space between mental health therapy and tech support, and is a senior consultant at PCT. His aim is to help workers everywhere cope with the occupational hazards of burnout and compassion fatigue by normalizing that terrible feeling of overwhelm when things go wrong.
With a background in IT, Evan has spent time as the Oregon Counseling Association’s tech chair after PCT’s late founder Roy, while getting his MA in Professional Mental Health Counseling from Lewis and Clark. When he wasn’t helping counselors adapt to technology, he has given talks and workshops on burnout and compassion fatigue all around Oregon.
We discuss:
Common myths we hear about practicing telehealth across jurisdictions
The risks of unpermitted practice
The threshold of client risk (and the only instances where cross-jurisdictional practice is permitted for clients in crisis)
What constitutes client abandonment and what doesn’t
Requesting temporary practice permission from a different jurisdiction
Our recent training on navigating legal-ethical cross-jurisdictional teletherapy practice for therapists
We discuss:
Encrypted messaging apps in the news
What end to end encryption means
What to look for in an encrypted messaging service
Why a Business Associate Agreement is necessary
The difference in risk landscape for mental health therapists and government officials
Safeguards, like device security measures, to take when using secure messaging apps
We discuss:
Expanded telehealth flexibilities and waivers for Medicare and where things currently stand
Reactions to the proposed Security Rule updates
Making updates even when they aren’t required to safeguard client info and your practice
Timelines for applications opening for the Counseling Compact and the Social Work Licensing Compact
Our upcoming CE training on Cross-Jurisdictional Teletherapy Practice in 2025
We discuss:
The uncertainty in our current regulatory landscape
What the in-person visit requirements mean for Medicare clients (and what they don’t mean)
Exceptions to the requirements for in-person visits
Compliance and documentation for these requirements, in the event of a Medicare audit
Steps to take as a therapy practice owner to be prepared for these requirements and communicate them to staff and clients
We discuss:
What the some of the proposed changes to the Security Rule are, including penetration testing
The timeframe for these changes if they are implemented, and the likelihood they actually will be implemented
The rationale behind the proposed changes, and why they’re necessary in our current threat landscape
How following the PCT Way can minimize the changes you need to make as HIPAA regulations evolve
Centering client care and safeguarding client info as a motivating factor, rather than fear
We discuss:
What happened with Change Healthcare
What a ransomware attack is and how the hackers gained access
Foundational security awareness training, and creating an overall security culture in your practice
How to improve training for your workforce
Having the right security configurations in place in your systems
The importance of risk analysis and risk mitigation planning
Codifying everything into comprehensive security policies and procedures