As a therapist and an educator I receive a lot of emails related to how I can protect myself from every big bad thing which could happen. HIPAA rules are one of those areas each therapist works towards achieving the utmost care in following. Due to the lack of clarity in many ethical standards for technology practices there are loop holes bigger than a black hole for a therapist to fall into. Some companies may pray on the ignorance of therapists understanding technology. Apps are being developed to help in confidentiality of texting. How credible are they? The email may cite legal examples of problems where private health information was inappropriately used with technology. If a therapist did not follow up with research it could be scary to read and they may pursue purchase of the app. Follow up with the article provides insight as to the nature of the incident. As in the article below, it may have nothing to do with the app being offered. So the lesson? Be aware, do your research, and don't let fear dictate your decisions.
Link to Article:
Are HIPAA rules unclear on texting protected health information?
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