by Practice Research and Policy and Legal/Regulatory Affairs Staff
August 31, 2010 — Increasingly, psychologists are raising questions about the possibility of providing telehealth services in their state and across state lines. These services involve interactions that occur electronically across distance, not in person, between health care professionals and their patients.
Practitioners want to know about laws and regulations that govern the delivery of telehealth services, as well as clinical, ethical and other considerations.
This reference list guides interested psychologists to a number of informative resources. The first item below is the feature article in the Summer 2010 issue of our Good Practice magazine.
Available on the web
American Psychological Association Practice Organization. (2010, Summer). Telehealth: Legal basics for psychologists (PDF, 2 MB). Good Practice. Retrieved August 23, 2010. Available to members of the APA Practice Organization.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2008, July 19). Practice parameter for telepsychiatry with children and adolescents (PDF, 199 KB). Retrieved August 23, 2010
American Telemedicine Association, (2009, July). Evidence-based practice for telemental health (PDF, 307 KB). Retrieved August 23, 2010
American Telemedicine Association. (2009, October). Practice guidelines for videoconferencing-based telemental health (PDF, 233 KB). Retrieved August 23, 2010
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2009). Considerations for the provision of e-therapy (PDF, 673 KB). HHS Publication. No. (SMA) 09-4450. Rockville, MD: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved August 23, 2010
Drude, K. & Lichstein, M. (2005, August). Psychologists’ use of e-mail with clients: Some ethical considerations. The Ohio Psychologist, 13-17. Retrieved August 23, 2010
Martin, S. (2010, July). The Internet’s ethical challenges. Monitor on Psychology, 41 (7), 32. Retrieved August 20, 2010
Ohio Psychological Association. (2008, April 12, updated 2010). Telepsychology guidelines (PDF, 127 KB). Retrieved August 23, 2010
Additional resources
Reed, G.M., McLaughlin, C.J., & Milholland, K. (2000). Ten interdisciplinary principles for professional practice in telehealth: Implications for psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31, 170-178.
Richardson, L.K., Frueh, B.C., Grubaugh, A.L., Egede, L., & Elhai, J.D. (2009). Current directions in videoconferencing tele-mental health research. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 16, 323-338.
Additional commentary on "Current directions in videoconferencing tele-mental health research":
Koocher, G.P. (2009). Any minute now but far, far away: Electronically mediated mental health. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 16, 339-342.
Mohr, D.C. (2009). Telemental health: Reflections on how to move the field forward. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 16, 343-347.