APA Resources Regarding HIPAA

APA Pandemic Hotline

Your APA membership gives you access to exclusive resources and consultation services focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on you, your work and your business.

Visit the new APA Pandemic Hotline page for important resources and to get the answers you need – or call 1-855-682-8302 and a representative will help you navigate the information or get you in touch with an industry expert including lawyers, student loan advisors, and professional liability insurance professionals to assist you with specific inquiries pertaining to:

  • Loans from the Small Business Administration under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL)
  • Support available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act
  • Loans from the Main Street lending program
  • Employee leave issues under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)  
  • Student loan forbearance relief
  • And more!
The global pandemic has impacted us all – APA’s new Pandemic Hotline is here to assist you with the intricacies of operating in this current environment. Visit the resources page or call 1-855-682-8302 M-F 8am – 8pm EST to access the answers you need.

Resources Regarding HIPAA

UPDATE!!!! “If you view the weblink I am including in it’s entirety, you’ll also see that at this time the tech is not required to meet HIPAA restrictions (e.g., FaceTime and Skype are directly named as temporarily acceptable during Covid crisis). I find that possibility useful since some of the HIPAA platforms are becoming overwhelmed/uneven. You’ll see also a link to covered CPT codes, with the common therapy codes listed. Here is a link to the FAQs from CMS:  https://edit.cms.gov/files/document/medicare-telehealth-frequently-asked-questions-faqs-31720.pdf

HIPAA Compliant Video Conferencing – Facetime, Facebook Messenger, etc.

  • Person Centered Tech has posted: HHS just announced today that they are lightening restrictions on the videoconferencing service you use to deliver telehealth services. They explicitly cite “Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts video, or Skype” as copacetic with emergency-time HIPAA rules. Facetime, Skype, and Facebook Messenger Video are explicitly mentioned as compatible with your HIPAA compliance for so long as the COVID-19 state of emergency is in effect.

https://personcenteredtech.com/2020/03/17/apple-facetime-or-facebook-messenger-video-and-hipaa-compliance-yes-for-now/?utm_source=Person+Centered+Tech+Newsletter&utm_campaign=fc15526323-%20frontpage_quickstart_guide_announce_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e9b2dcace3%20-fc15526323-125883169&goal=0_e9b2dcace3-fc15526323-%20125883169&mc_cid=fc15526323&mc_eid=4047a3ad0e

HIPAA Compliant Videoconferencing Vsee

Online Psychological Testing Resource PAR iConnect

Spruce is a billing and videoconferencing software

8x8 is a texting and phone service for businesses and can be HIPAA compliant

Hushmail is a HIPAA compliant email

Sookasa is a HIPAA compliant folder for dropbox, google drive and more for medical records at home

other Resources on telehealth and Virutal Reality Therapy Ethics

“Telehealth, Benefits, Barriers, and Ethical Issues” is an article by Dr. Christina Armstrong from the 2018 Spring issue of The Los Angeles Psychologist. 
 
Dr. Jillian Pexa, Chair of LACPA‘s Disaster Response Committee has taken all the Listserv emails and comprised a list of resources for; telehealth, mental health professionals, the public, and those in need.  – ALL IN ONE PLACE – for you.
 
You will also find a wonderful guided meditation by LACPA‘s own Diversity Committee Chair, Dr. Harpreet Malla. It’s a wonderful way to take a break and escape for a few minutes.
 
Our Special Interest Groups, Networking, and Club meetings are going virtual.  Check our Website Calendar for the upcoming virtual meetings in April.  More are being planned. www.lacpa.org
 
CLICK HERE for the resources, meditation, and article.  We will be updating this regularly.
 
We also received this information from our President-Elect, Michael Fresé, Ph.D. (and please pass it to your friends/colleagues) that PESI is providing a free 2-day webinar on telehealth. It usually costs more than $450.00. The promo code is TELEHEALTH  CLICK HERE to register.

From Dr. Cathy Malchiodi : World Famous Art Therapist, Trauma Expert in Expressive Art Therapy, and Psycholgist

I am so grateful to have been able to work with so many fabulous and expert authors earlier this year on The Handbook of Art Therapy and Digital Technology https://amzn.to/2vZZzN8 …and here is one of them, Jedediah Logan, media psychologist and art therapist-in process. His chapter on Telehealth describes one Virtual Reality [VR] application used with combat veterans with posttraumatic stress; brief excerpt as follows:

“Bravemind is a virtual reality application that builds resilience in combat veterans with PTSD. The application is designed to provide exposure therapy for veterans to help them better manage symptoms. The VR experience itself is a virtual re-creation of a Middle Eastern city in various settings that allows a veteran to reexperience combat conditions in an environment that is safe, under their influence and performed with a trained practitioner.” Also, thanks to Skip Rizzo, clinical psychologist, for his work with Bravemind that helped to make this specific chapter possible.