Digital Ethics In Practice Management and Promotion: A Heart-Centered Approach

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)