Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we share information about Google’s new Appointment Scheduler feature.  

We discuss:

• How the feature works and pros and cons compared to similar software
• Whether this new feature is HIPAA compliance compatible
• What Google Workspace tiers include this new functionality
• Usage guidance for this new feature
• Our free Google Workspace Resource Center where you can get more support

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• Google Help Center: Set up your appointments & booking page

• Related on-demand workshop (non-CE) *free*: Making Practice Life Easier and More Efficient With Google Workspace
  • this seminar presents systems run by Google Workspace that will make your practice life easier and help you meet or exceed your security and HIPAA compliance requirements.
• PCT's Google Workspace Configuration Center (*free*)
  • Includes a handy checklist!
• PCT's free Group Practice Service Selection Workbook & Worksheets -- support for selecting HIPAA-secure, effective, and economical services to meet your practice's functionality and operational needs
  • optional accompanying on-demand CE training: Designing a Group Practice’s Tech Setup for Success: Effectiveness, HIPAA Compliance, Client Safety, and Efficiency (1 legal-ethical CE credit hour)
• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours -- including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• HIPAA Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service for mental health group practices -- care for your practice using our supportive, shame-free risk analysis and mitigation planning service. You’ll have your Risk Analysis done within 2 hours, performed by a PCT consultant, using a tool built specifically for mental health group practice, and a mitigation checklist to help you reduce your risks.

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we cover the culprit of the latest HIPAA penalty, how it happened, and how you can take action to stop it from happening to you. 

We discuss:

• Instances of monetary HIPAA penalties
• Sharing login credentials between workforce members vs with unauthorized third parties
• The importance of multi factor authentication
• Using the Google Authenticator app for MFA 

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• About the violations & penalty: HHS Office for Civil Rights Imposes a $548,265 Penalty Against Children’s Hospital Colorado for HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules Violations

• Related Training (non-CE): Security Awareness Grab-Bag
  • A collection of three short courses helping you and your staff maintain your security awareness through better handling of PHI in public, avoiding inappropriate disclosures, and preventing phishing and social engineering attacks.
• Referenced podcast: Episode 440: MFA Made Easy with Google Authenticator
• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours -- including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • +  assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• HIPAA Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service for mental health group practices -- care for your practice using our supportive, shame-free risk analysis and mitigation planning service. You’ll have your Risk Analysis done within 2 hours, performed by a PCT consultant, using a tool built specifically for mental health group practice, and a mitigation checklist to help you reduce your risks.

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we dive into the importance of secure phone communications for therapy providers.

We discuss:

• The recently revealed hack of major global telecom providers
• The difference between secure communications and non-secure communications
• The difference between HIPAA secure and HIPAA friendly
• How clients can opt out of secure communications 
• Which VoIP services are HIPAA secure (and which major one isn’t)
• Reframing HIPAA security as client care

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• Article: Chinese hack of global telecom providers is ‘ongoing,’ officials warn Officials from the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency say the major Chinese hack began in late spring, and they are strongly urging Americans to use encrypted communications.

• Related on-demand CE Training: Smooth and Secure Use of Phone, Text, Email, and Video to Meet Modern Clients Where They Are: Legal-Ethical and Real-World Considerations (3 legal-ethical CE credit hours)
  • Learn about the legal-ethical considerations of modern communication channels in the context of real world practice and client needs. **ideal for leadership
• PCT's free Group Practice Service Selection Workbook & Worksheets -- support for selecting HIPAA-secure, effective, and economical services to meet your practice's functionality and operational needs
  • optional accompanying on-demand CE training: Designing a Group Practice’s Tech Setup for Success: Effectiveness, HIPAA Compliance, Client Safety, and Efficiency (1 legal-ethical CE credit hour)
• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours -- including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• HIPAA Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service for mental health group practices -- care for your practice using our supportive, shame-free risk analysis and mitigation planning service. You’ll have your Risk Analysis done within 2 hours, performed by a PCT consultant, using a tool built specifically for mental health group practice, and a mitigation checklist to help you reduce your risks.

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we discuss Apple's Private Relay function and whether it can be used in a group practice context.

We discuss:

• Security policies around network security and device security, particularly BYOD policies
• How Private Relay works, and its limitations
• How Private Relay is similar to a VPN (and how it is different)
• What functionality is required for network and device security
• Private Relay alternatives and their limitations
• Our recommended VPN service

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours -- including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• HIPAA Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service for mental health group practices -- care for your practice using our supportive, shame-free risk analysis and mitigation planning service. You’ll have your Risk Analysis done within 2 hours, performed by a PCT consultant, using a tool built specifically for mental health group practice, and a mitigation checklist to help you reduce your risks.

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we explore the impact of the recent rate cuts for Headway and Alma clinicians.

We discuss:

• The common anxieties around corporate/VC owned telehealth companies
• The incentives these companies use to lure clinicians
• The cracks starting to appear in these companies
• How the rate cuts will impact clinicians
• How the rate cuts will impact group practices and solo practices

Listen here:  https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• Clear Health Costs article: UnitedHealth-Optum pay cut makes clinicians reassess value of tech mental health platforms
• Clear Health Costs article: 2 digital mental health platforms cut pay rates for therapists with UnitedHealth’s Optum, stirring anger

• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours -- including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• HIPAA Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service for mental health group practices -- care for your practice using our supportive, shame-free risk analysis and mitigation planning service. You’ll have your Risk Analysis done within 2 hours, performed by a PCT consultant, using a tool built specifically for mental health group practice, and a mitigation checklist to help you reduce your risks.

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we’re chatting about multi-factor authentication for group practices.   

We discuss:

• What multi-factor authentication is and why it’s important 
• Different types of factors for authentication
• What Google Authenticator is and how it works
• What accounts you can use Google Authenticator for
• HIPAA considerations for using Google Authenticator
• Using Google Authenticator appropriately in a group practice context

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

Resources

• Google Help: Get Verification Codes with Google Authenticator
• Tech Target: What is Google Authenticator
• TherapyNotes: Setting Up & Using 2 Factor Authentication (Including Google Authenticator)

PCT Resources

• Related Training (non-CE): Security Awareness Grab-Bag
  • A collection of three short courses helping you and your staff maintain your security awareness through better handling of PHI in public, avoiding inappropriate disclosures, and preventing phishing and social engineering attacks.
• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours -- including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • +  assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• HIPAA Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service for mental health group practices -- care for your practice using our supportive, shame-free risk analysis and mitigation planning service. You’ll have your Risk Analysis done within 2 hours, performed by a PCT consultant, using a tool built specifically for mental health group practice, and a mitigation checklist to help you reduce your risks.

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we explain what makes up a client’s record. 

We discuss:

• HIPAA regulations vs. state laws
• What communications are included in a client’s record and why
• The distinction between progress notes and psychotherapy notes
• Resources for training your staff on rethinking notes
• The Open Notes Rule
• Managing documentation compliance in your practice

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• Designated Record Set (under HIPAA)
• HIPAA, Psychotherapy Notes, and Other Mental Health Records (JD Supra article)

• CE courses: How We Need to Give Clients Access to Their Records, Now and in the Future (2 legal-ethical CE credit hours) and/or Rethinking Notes: Strategies for Making Documentation Simple and Meaningful (2 legal-ethical CE credit hours
• Group Practice Tech podcast, Episode 418: Four Things You Need to Know About Psychotherapy Notes
• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours -- including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• HIPAA Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service for mental health group practices -- care for your practice using our supportive, shame-free risk analysis and mitigation planning service. You’ll have your Risk Analysis done within 2 hours, performed by a PCT consultant, using a tool built specifically for mental health group practice, and a mitigation checklist to help you reduce your risks.

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we look at Google’s Gemini AI tool through a HIPAA lens.

We discuss:

• Common use cases for Gemini in a group practice context
• What’s covered under the Google Workspace BAA (and what isn’t)
• Ethical and legal considerations for using PHI with AI tools
• Informed consent for clients when AI tools are used for clinical documentation
• Establishing a Gemini usage policy for your practice

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• Google's Gemini AI for Google Workspace
• Google's HIPAA Included Functionality
• Google's HIPAA Implementation Guide (see Gemini section)

• CE courses: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a Mental Health Clinician: Managing risk, ethics, and clinical benefits (2 legal-ethical CE credit hours) and/or The Evolving Legal-Ethical Standard of Care for the Clinical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health (1.5 legal-ethical CE credit hours)
• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours -- including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • + assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • +  assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• HIPAA Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service for mental health group practices -- care for your practice using our supportive, shame-free risk analysis and mitigation planning service. You’ll have your Risk Analysis done within 2 hours, performed by a PCT consultant, using a tool built specifically for mental health group practice, and a mitigation checklist to help you reduce your risks.

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we’re chatting about what to do if your practice experiences a natural disaster, like a hurricane.

We discuss:

• The recent hurricanes impacting the southeast US
• Prioritizing access to care
• Limited HIPAA waivers for disasters and emergencies
• And situations where the waivers would apply
• Resources for group practices in and out of the affected areas 

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• HHS Declarations of a Public Health Emergency (PHE)
• For information about how the HIPAA Privacy Rule applies in a public health emergency, visit the OCR’S HIPAA Emergency Preparedness, Planning, and Response page (www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/emergency-preparedness/index.html) or you may use the HIPAA Disclosures for Emergency Preparedness Decision Tool (www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/emergency-preparedness/decision-tool-overview/index.html). 
• Limited Waiver of HIPAA Sanctions and Penalties During a Declared Emergency: 2024 Public Health Emergency for Florida in Response to Hurricane Milton
• Limited Waiver of HIPAA Sanctions and Penalties During a Declared Emergency: 2024 Public Health Emergency for North Carolina in Response to Hurricane Helene
• Direct Resources for WNC community members curated by Patrick Casale of All Things Private Practice
• Urgent Aid for WNC Communities Affected by Helene GoFundMe organized by Patrick Casale

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we’re joined by Patrick Casale from All Things Private Practice to talk about how to create a neuro-affirming therapy practice.

We discuss:

• Understanding your own neurotype as a leader
• Considerations for developing a neuro-affirming workplace
• Creating an environment where staff can ask for the accommodations they need
• Resources for practice owners to improve accessibility 
• Therapist directories that prioritize accessibility and identity
• Soliciting feedback from staff 

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

• Join Liath and Patrick for the 2025 Leadership Retreat for group practice owners and leaders in Chania, Greece!
• About Patrick
• Neurodivergent Entrepreneur Coaching with Patrick
• Divergent Conversations podcast with Patrick and Dr. Megan Neff
• Empowered Escapes upcoming retreats and summits
• Doubt Yourself, Do It Anyway Virtual Online Summit
• All Things Private Practice --> Helping Mental Health & Neurodivergent Business Owners Doubt Themselves & Do It Anyway
• All Things Private Practice Podcast