Group Practice Tech

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 whether Google’s mail merge feature is appropriate for therapists to send mass communications. 

We discuss our advice on using the BCC field (don’t do it!); how Google’s mail merge function works; what’s covered under Google’s BAA; calculating risk; the impacts of a HIPAA breach; and behavioral measures vs. technical measures for reducing risk of error.

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

For more, visit our website.

Google (free!) Workspace Configuration Center

PCT's Group Practice Service Selection Workbook & Worksheets - free!! Step 1 of the PCT Way. Support for selecting HIPAA-secure, effective, and economical phone, video, and communication platforms (and your other practice functionality needs, too!)

PCT's 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

PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with 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 documenting Remote Workspaces + 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices + direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours

PCT's 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 talk with Patrick Casale from All Things Private Practice about leading with intentionality in group practice. 

We discuss intentions behind starting a group practice; skills that going into being a good leader and practice owner; moving forward from mistakes; making values-based decisions; encouraging job satisfaction and preventing burnout; having hard conversations; being open to healthy conflict and constructive criticism; being willing to delegate; adding administrative support; and what systems, policies, and procedures to have in place when starting a group.

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

For more, visit our website.

Patrick Casale is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health and Addictions Therapist in Asheville, NC.. He is the owner of All Things Private Practice and Resilient Mind Counseling. Patrick works as a Private Practice Coach and Strategist, and is also a Group Practice Owner, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Planner, and the host of All Things Private Practice Podcast. He has been featured on Private Practice Startup, Abundance Practice Building, Therapy Reimagined, Not Your Typical Psychotherapist, Selling The Couch, and Modern Therapists. Patrick is a passionate advocate, reducing shame and stigma of mental health, as well as impostor syndrome. Patrick helps mental health entrepreneurs break the mold, work through their fears and insecurities, and to embrace their Authenticity. He loves good coffee, craft beer, playing soccer, and traveling the world.

• All Things Private Practice Podcast

• Private Practice Retreats for Therapist Entrepreneurs

• Patrick's Facebook Group on Private Practice Building

• All Things Private Practice Instagram

• All Things Private Practice website

• PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours, for group practice leaders plus

• 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 documenting Remote Workspaces

• 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices

• PCT's 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 talk about the challenges of utilizing Google Ads in group practice from a HIPAA perspective. 

We discuss maintaining steady referrals post-pandemic; guidance from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR); balancing keeping care accessible with ethical marketing; our recommendation for Google Ads support for therapists; normalizing the discomfort of normalcy after years of crisis; using your values to inform your marketing; and finding resources when you need them.

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

For more, visit our website.

• Mental Health Group Practice Google Ad specialist, Joe Bavonese PhD at Uncommon Practices

• OCR/HHS: Guidance: Use of Online Tracking Technologies by HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates

• PCT training, presented by Joe Bavonese, PhD: Effective and Ethical Marketing for your Therapy Practice

• Episode 313: [HIPAA] Compliance Considerations for Your Practice Website

• Thriving and Making Comfort Conference Self-Study and Replays including:

• Navigating Collective Trauma As A Mental Health Professional

• How To Survive Burnout + Internet Marketing During COVID-19

• Legal Considerations For Practice Needs During COVID-19: HIPAA And Marketing, Cross-Jurisdiction Practice

• PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours, for group practice leaders plus:

• 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 documenting Remote Workspaces

• 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices

• PCT's 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 talking about AI use in a group practice setting.

We discuss the ways that AI can impact group practices; risk analysis considerations; ways that AI is already utilized that you may not be aware of; setting explicit policies around AI; vetting whether AI services have access to PHI; steps to take when implementing HIPAA appropriate AI services; and our upcoming training with Eric Ström on navigating the legal and ethical guidelines of AI use for mental health practitioners. 

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

For more, visit our website.

PCT CE training: The Evolving Legal-Ethical Standard of Care for the Clinical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Live on June 15th, On-Demand Self Study thereafter

• Gain insights into the benefits and challenges of incorporating AI technologies into their practice, understand the clinical implications, and learn how to navigate legal and ethical guidelines while maintaining compliance with HIPAA regulations.

• Presenter Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC, brings a unique voice to the discourse around AI. He is an AMHCA ethics committee member, and the ethics advisor for the Washington Mental Health Counselors Association. Eric has taught a range of courses in counseling and professional ethics at a variety of graduate and undergraduate programs.

PCT On-Demand CE training: Modern Progress Notes: Considerations for Teletherapy, Insurance Audits, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Modern documentation requires adaptivity and new strategies to manage things like electronic records, insurance audits, teletherapy sessions, and even artificial intelligence (AI). But what is ethical, safe and wise to implement in your practice? Join Dr. Maelisa McCaffrey (Hall) of QA Prep to address common considerations and learn new strategies for coping with notes in our modern era.

PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours, for group practice leaders plus:

• 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 documenting Remote Workspaces 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices

PCT's 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.

PCT's HIPAA Manual for Group Practices -- soon to include a Policy insert on the legal-ethical and appropriate utilization of AI in your mental health group practice.

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 chat about record retention requirements, both under HIPAA and under state law. 

We discuss the record retention requirement for HIPAA; the actual client medical record requirements under state law; the difference between documentation of HIPAA compliance activities and maintaining client records; considerations for destroying records, (paper and electronic); how to document destroyed records; where to find record retention requirements for your state; and what should be in a client’s record.

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

For more, visit our website.

PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours, for group practice leaders plus:

• 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 documenting Remote Workspaces

• 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices

PCT's 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 have an insightful conversation with group practice owner + supervisor extraordinaire, Dr. Tara Sanderson, about supervision, artificial intelligence, and leadership.

We discuss leveraging technology and systems for supervision; seeking supervision or consultation throughout your career; features of good supervision; supervision as risk analysis; taking reasonable steps to ensure competence with new technology; considerations for AI use for therapists; current ways therapists utilize AI; balancing legality, ethics, and humanity; being open to other perspectives, continual learning, and vulnerability as a leader; the art form of supervision; trainings that Tara has found helpful; Tara’s podcast and training course; receiving supervision to become a better supervisor; and what’s in Tara’s tech stack. 

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

For more, visit our website.

Dr. Sanderson's Supervision Smörgåsbord Podcast

Dr. Sanderson's How to Have Interns in Your Practice course 

Dr. Sanderson's CE training series at PCT: Incorporation of Interns and Supervisees in Mental Health Private Practice: Legal-Ethical, Training, and System Resource Management Considerations

The PCT Way System for optimizing and fortifying your mental health group practice

PCT's Group Practice Care Premium: one of the key resource, support and team management systems Dr. Sanderson utilizes to manage device security, remote workspace security, HIPAA and ethics trainings for her team of interns and supervisees

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 talk about the proposed new rule from the FTC that would ban non-compete clauses in contracts for workers.

We discuss how non-competes tend to operate in group practice; considerations if you have a non-compete in place; how clients experience non-competes; client autonomy and care outcomes; the enforceability of non-compete clauses; non-competes as a deterrent; and shifting mindsets about non-competes.

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

For more, visit our website.

APA article: Practitioner pointer: How to handle non-compete and non-solicitation clauses

CAMFT attorney article on non-competes and "thoughtful transitions"

JD Supra article: FTC Proposes Ban on Noncompetes

NBC news article on Non-Competes in Healthcare

Non-competition Agreements under Scrutiny at State and Federal Level

PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours, for group practice leaders plus: 

• 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 documenting Remote Workspaces

• 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices

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

Our latest episode is a public service announcement about the Texting Campaign Registry and what therapists need to know. 

We discuss why the Texting Campaign Registry (TCR) exists; who the TCR applies to (all businesses that send texts in any form); how to register through your phone carrier or service provider; what happens when you don’t register your business; and some of the information you’ll need to provide to register; and when you should register. 

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

For more, visit our website.

Texting Campaign Registry

iPlum FAQ on the TCR

RingRX FAQ on the TCR

RingRX description of the different campaign registration use cases

RingCentral FAQ on the TCR

SpruceHealth FAQ on the TCR

Zoom FAQ on the TCR

Pro Tip for our solo practitioner listeners who don't have a practice website or practice social media presence (required items for "brand verification" as part of the registry process): We suggested to one such PCT client that they use their NPI profile link, which worked successfully.

PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours, for group practice leaders, plus:

• 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 documenting Remote Workspaces

• 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices

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 why clients cannot waive the need for HIPAA compliance. 

We discuss misconceptions that stem from non-enforcement for parts of the HIPAA Security Rule during the federal Public Health Emergency; who needs a BAA; the protections BAAs provide for the HIPAA Covered Entity; client’s rights to request non-secure communications; client’s rights to access their health information; and why clients cannot waive the Business Associate requirement.

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

For more, visit our website.

PCT article: What's a HIPAA Business Associate?

PCT article: Clients Have the Right to Receive Unencrypted Emails (and Texts) Under HIPAA

PCT's Sample Request for Non-Secure Communications Form

PCT's Group Practice Service Selection Workbook & Worksheets (free!! Step 1 of the PCT Way)

• support for selecting HIPAA-secure, effective, and economical services to meet your practice's functionality needs

PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours, for group practice leaders, plus: 

• 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 documenting Remote Workspaces

• 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices

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 a common area of confusion for group practice owners – contractor clinicians. 

We discuss covered entities; HIPAA policies and procedures; IRS factors of control for contractors vs employees; the ABC test to determine classification; contracting as a business to business relationship; acting as a Managed Services Organization (MSO); Business Associate Agreements (BAAs); risk exposure and risk analysis; consequences of misclassifying contractors; and our HIPAA compliance manual service that can help with setup and implementation.

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

For more, visit our website.

• ABC test for contractors

• • Under the ABC test, a worker is considered an employee and not an independent contractor, unless the hiring entity satisfies all three of the following conditions:

  • • A: The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact;

    • B: The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and

    • C: The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

• JD Supra article: Independent Contractors Under U.S. Law: Knowing Your ABCs

• Independent Contractor Laws by State (with map and key!)

• CMS - Covered Entities and Business Associates 

• • See Business Associates section, particularly: "If a covered entity engages a business associate to help carry out its health care activities and functions, the covered entity must have a written business associate contract or other arrangement with the business associate" and "Also, a covered health care provider, health plan, or health care clearinghouse can be a business associate of another covered entity."

• Free on-demand webinar (with Maureen Werrbach of the Group Practice Exchange, too!): Structuring Your Group Practice for Success -- Considerations for Contractors VS Employees

• PCT's Group Practice PCT Way HIPAA Compliance Manual & Materials

• • Includes the Terms of Service template for practice as Managed Services Organization and HIPAA Business Associate to contractor clinicians as HIPAA covered entities, template BAAs for executing between practice and contractor clinicians, and comprehensive HIPAA Security Policies & Procedures for the practice as HIPAA covered entity and Business Associate/MSO.

  • Comprehensively covers the HIPAA P&Ps for contractor clinician structure group practices, employee structure group practices, and practices that are hybrid.

• PCT's Group Practice Care Premium service with assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members plus:

• • Access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing documenting Remote Workspaces

  • 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 documenting personal & practice-provided devices

  • Direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours