As online speech therapy and other remote therapies become increasingly popular, perhaps it’s time to ask, “Isn’t sacrificing client confidentiality through the online venue too high a price to pay?” Or you may be worried that since digital communications are more susceptible to exploitation, client privacy is about to become history. If you have either of these concerns it may be time to take a quick look at page 5 of Global Teletherapy’s Complete Guide to Online Speech Therapy to put them to rest once and for all.
Being worried about privacy leaks and hacks in the online transmission of information is a legitimate concern. Just look at how the field of cybersecurity continues to mushroom and evolve in sophistication. Take something as simple as email. There is no way to ensure complete safety and confidentiality.
But to focus on the online venue is to miss the point. If you are dealing with humans then privacy is never guaranteed. People are people, and there are plenty of security breaches out there in the “offline world” as well. It’s always been that way, and it will always be that way.
So Is it reasonable to demand a standard from the “online world” that is unattainable in the “offline world?” In other words, the privacy concern isn’t really about “online” but is about the human factor.
Confidentiality often boils down to adherence to regulations that have been established to protect client privacy. So what is a responsible caring school administrator to do? The only answer is to work with a high-quality, reputable agency that can assure that all of the industry regulations of privacy are being followed and that everything is being done to satisfy all HIPAA standards, ensuring the confidentiality of all sessions and data.
Interested in seeing how other prevalent online speech therapy myths like this one are debunked? Or perhaps you realize that it’s time to acquire a clearer understanding of what speech teletherapy is all about. Either one is as easy as clicking here for your free copy of our Complete Guide to Online Speech Therapy. And be sure to stay tuned to this blog where more invaluable information about remote speech therapy will continue to come your way.
