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The Ethics of Teletherapy in Speech and Language Pathology

Quick Highlights:

  • Teletherapy lets SLPs provide therapy remotely but requires understanding of ethical practices.
  • Confidentiality and privacy must be protected using secure, HIPAA-compliant platforms.
  • Informed consent means explaining treatment benefits and risks clearly to patients.
  • SLPs need proper training to deliver teletherapy effectively and within their skill scope.
  • Ongoing education is essential to keep up with teletherapy technology and ethics.

Table of contents

As you study for your speech-language pathology (SLP) degree, it’s important to know the rules for teletherapy. Teletherapy lets SLPs help patients from far away. SLPs must keep patient information private and get their permission before starting treatment. You also need to follow HIPAA rules and keep learning about new technology. In this article, you will learn how to keep patient information safe, get permission for treatment, follow HIPAA rules, and stay updated on training for teletherapy.

Related:

What Is Teletherapy?

Teletherapy is when a licensed therapist performs online therapy for their patients. In recent years, remote therapy and health visits have completely changed the medical field. However, with the advent of teletherapy, there is a growing concern about online SLP standards and ethical guidelines for teletherapy. 

While there are some teletherapy confidentiality issues to worry about, there are also a number of advantages to this development. With teletherapy, clients can easily access therapy from remote locations. This makes therapy more convenient and increases the odds that they will end up maintaining their treatment plan.

Key Ethical Considerations in Teletherapy

As you learn more about teletherapy ethics in SLP, you will discover practices and techniques that you can use in your own practice. For example, confidentiality practices, informed consent, competence, and scope of practice are teletherapy ethical considerations you should think about before adopting this therapy style.

Confidentiality and Privacy 

First, you must consider challenges around teletherapy confidentiality issues. In the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) governs medical privacy. To make sure you are legally compliant, you must use a secure teletherapy SLP platform. It must be HIPAA-compliant software, or you will end up getting into legal trouble. 

Additionally, the ethics of online therapy SLP must conform to American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) standards. According to ASHA, confidentiality isn’t just a legal or workplace issue. It is also a matter of professional ethics. When students and patients come to SLPs for care, they must trust that their information will remain private and confidential.

Informed consent is one of the best practices in teletherapy you should incorporate into your sessions. It basically means that parents, students, and patients who receive treatment are informed about the benefits, risks, and alternatives to treatment. 

As a part of ethical online speech therapy, you must learn how to convey the benefits and risks of treatment in a way that the patient understands. This means using clear descriptions and realistic expectations. You must also have a way to confirm that the patient or their support person understands the nature and risks of the speech-language pathology therapy being used. 

Competence and Scope of Practice 

A final one of the teletherapy ethical considerations is your competence and scope of practice. When SLPs practice online, they must be adequately trained on the best practices in teletherapy and how to deliver services effectively. This may involve an added training program through your workplace, a seminar, or a certificate program. 

No matter what your training level is, the SLP services you offer should match your competency. SLPs should learn how to competently provide services that can be effectively delivered through teletherapy. 

Regulatory and Professional Guidelines

ASHA provides guidance on speech therapy online ethics. It’s important to pay attention to this guidance as you develop ethical teletherapy practices in your career. ASHA has several guidelines that shape teletherapy ethics in SLP. The following list includes just a few of ASHA’s expectations for the SLP’s role in providing teletherapy.   

  • Maintaining your telehealth instruments.
  • Incorporating the right technology for each kind of service.
  • Being able to use and troubleshoot different security and operation issues in technology. 
  • Choosing and using the right assessments and interventions for each situation. 
  • Training and incorporating support professionals, like community workers and family members.
  • Being sensitive to linguistic and cultural differences.
  • Maintaining and storing the appropriate documentation, such as informed consent forms. 
  • Knowing compliance rules and regulations. 
  • Working with medical professionals and community resources on referral and follow-up services.

Ethical Dilemmas and Case Studies

While there are many advantages to the secure teletherapy SLP practices use, there are also challenges as well. Ensuring teletherapy patient privacy and informed consent can be difficult in an online environment.   

For instance, patients or their parents must be able to fully understand the risks and benefits in order to provide informed consent. However, it can be challenging to obtain informed consent in an online environment. 

If the patient is being seen at home, there may be loud noises, like a television or children playing in the background. Not only might the patient struggle to give their consent, but the practitioner may be unable to hear it. The presence of other people may also represent a HIPAA concern as well. While it may be impossible for the patient to move to a different room of their house, being unable to attend the session alone represents a major privacy concern. 

Finally, incorporating the ethics of online therapy SLP clinics require can be challenging if you are unfamiliar with data encryption and other security measures. Most SLPs don’t spend a lot of time training on online data security measures, so maintaining a patient’s data privacy and confidentiality may be challenging.   

Best Practices for Ethical Teletherapy

Through SLP best practices, you can ensure the teletherapy effectiveness patients deserve. Technology and ethical requirements can change, so it’s important to continually assess the effectiveness and ethical compliance of your teletherapy interventions. 

Client Communication: Whether your practice is online or offline, you have to communicate with your clients about their treatment if you want to obtain informed consent. They should also be aware of how teletherapy functions and what to expect from their treatment program.  

Ongoing Training: To work as a teletherapist, you must be committed to ongoing training. Technology will adjust over time, so it’s important to be willing to learn about new software programs and cybersecurity programs.  

Use of Technology: As a part of ethical teletherapy practices, you must incorporate technology into your clinical practice. This may require comparing and using different programs, performing software updates, and reviewing HIPAA-compliance measures. 

Communication With Stakeholders: Some SLPs who work in schools struggle with maintaining patient privacy. For example, administrators in school settings may ask for information about the SLP session because they are unaware of privacy and ethical requirements. As an SLP, it’s important to communicate with stakeholders about your legal and ethical constraints so that your patients are protected. 

Learn More About Teletherapy Ethics in SLP 

To ensure effective virtual SLP services, you must understand teletherapy ethics. It’s important to understand teletherapy confidentiality issues and privacy concerns before you begin working online. By understanding the ethics of online therapy, you can prepare yourself for one of the latest developments in SLP. 

As teletherapy continues to evolve, there will be more ethical teletherapy practices to familiarize yourself with. It’s important to stay involved so that you can learn about new ethical practices and concepts as the field changes. 

Learn more by consulting teletherapy resources. There are continuing education programs, professional forums, and workshops that can help you learn more about teletherapy ethics.