Archive for the ‘Videoconferencing’ Category

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We are working hard on putting together our new OTI magazine, TILT (Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology).

The magazine will be online and free, and launched in September 2010. It will be a blend of news, innovations, member profiles, articles, features, marketing toolboxes, news on textbooks, and advertisements of interest. We will have more news on this very soon as the first issue comes together.

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Each issue will include the following:

· Editors introduction and contents (Kate Anthony & DeeAnna Merz Nagel)
· News from the cyberstreet (tweets members, what is at OTI blog, new research news)
· New Breakthroughs column
· Online Therapist column (A Day In The Life)
· Online Supervisor column
· Ethical Dilemmas column
· Feature article 4000-6000 words
· Other article(s) – about 1500 words
· Marketing toolbox column
· Featured Verified website
· Letters/reader comments
· Book descriptions of 3 books per issue
· Advertising and conferences

If you have an article of up to 1500 words that you are burning to get out of your system on any topic related to innovative delivery of therapeutic services via technology (including coaching), please do submit it no earlier than August 1st and no later than August 20th to editor@onlinetherapymagazine.com

We’re very excited at this new development at the Online Therapy Institute and will let you know even more about the content soon!

We look forward to reading your article!

If you have other inquiries about the magazine including advertising options please email info@onlinetherapyinstitute.com

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Get Verified!

Do you have a website that offers information, services or products related to mental health?

Online Therapy Institute verifies websites so that individuals and businesses can demonstrate to their audience that their website is in compliance with what OTI considers to be “best practice” and in accordance with OTI’s Ethical Frameworks.

Getting OTI Verified means whether you offer website development and marketing services, you are an individual practitioner in private practice or you own an e-clinic or you represent a charity or educational organization you can indicate to the public that you understand the ethical implications of delivering mental health information and services online.

Website Categories

• Client Services (therapy, counselling. counseling, coaching)
• Therapist/Coach Directory
• Social Network
• Blog
• Peer Support
• Self Help
• Practice Building/Marketing
• Supervision/Consultation
• Education/Professional Development
• Crisis Intervention

You may have a website that fits into more than one category. Or you may have two websites under the same business name. For instance, some people have a private practice website and a separate blog site. We will offer an OTI Verified Seal that you can use on all of your sites. By implementing the items on our checklist that apply to your website categories, you can Get Verified .

• Your seal will be a choice of two styles.
• Each seal carries your company name and the current date.
• The seal cannot be replicated onto another site.
• The cost is $99.99 for the first year and $49.99 renewal each year following.

Instructions

You must have Adobe Reader to Download the following files

OTI Get Verified Checklist ….. OTI Get Verified Notes

• Compare your website to our checklist to be sure your website is ready for verification.
• Read through the notes that offer clarification for items on the checklist.
• Once you are sure you meet the criteria, click Google Buy Now button below.
• Following the completion of the payment process, you will be directed to the application.
• You will be contacted within 10 business days with your OTI Verified Seal.
• Should your website not meet the OTI Verified criteria, we will make recommendations.

Get Verified!

Early in 2004, the American Medical Association published a new CPT code 0074T that allowed physicians in the USA reimbursement for online consults. The new code was released January 1st, 2004.

*  Code 0074T: Online evaluation & management service, per encounter, provided by a physician, using the Internet or similar electronic communications network, in response to a patient’s request, established patient.

In 2008, the CPT code 0074T was replaced. The code relating to online counseling was previously in the CPT manual under category III (emerging technologies).  As of 2008, it has been replaced by the new code numbers and is now under category I.

CPT Code 98969 is used to describe online services provided by non physician. CPT code 98966 is used to bill for phone consultation services.

Here are the billing guidelines about these two codes.  These two codes do not specify mental health-related services so the best advice is to check with the insurance carrier and advise your clients to do the same. For now it is best to assume that online counseling is not covered unless you can verify otherwise.

CPT 98969 On-Line Medical Evaluation by a Non-Physician

Online assessment and management service provided by a qualified non-physician health care professional to an established patient, guardian, or health care provider not originating from a related E/M service within the previous 7 days, using the Internet or similar electronic communications network.

Guidelines

•  Reportable services involve a personal and timely response to the patient’s inquiry, and must include permanent storage (electronic or hard copy)
• The online encounter is reported only once for the same problem/issue during a seven-day period, and includes the sum of all communication related to the online encounter (eg telephone calls, prescriptions, lab orders).
• If the online encounter relates to and occurs within 7 days of another E/M service performed and reported by the same provider for the same problem, it is not separately reportable.
• If the online encounter relates to a procedure performed by the same physician and occurs during the global post-operative period, it is not separately reportable.
• Online services should not be reported for care plan oversight or anticoagulation management when the same communication is reported using codes 99339-99340, 99374-99380, or 99363-99364.
• Online services which result in a face-to-face visit for the same problem may be reported in addition to the face-to-face visit.

Example: A patient emails her physician to request information about cancer screening after learning that there is a history of breast, colon, and prostate cancer in close family members. The physician responds and explains the implications of the family history, reviews risk factors, and offers an opinion as to what types of screening may be appropriate. The physician may also direct the patient to informational websites or attach handouts that are routinely provided to patients.

Example: The mother of a 16 year old patient with cystic acne, controlled with topical medications, emails the physician because of a recent flare-up. She is concerned about scarring and desires information about other appropriate treatment options, and the impact of diet and stress on the condition. The physician responds to her concerns, offers a short course of antibiotic therapy, provides long-term treatment options, and instructions for a follow-up visit.

Telephone Services–Non-Physician

Telephone assessment and management service provided by a qualified nonphysician health care professional to an established patient, parent, or guardian not originating from a related assessment and management service provided within the previous seven days nor leading to an assessment and management service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment;

•  98966 5-10 minutes of medical discussion
• 98967 11-20 minutes of medical discussion
• 98968 21-30 minutes of medical discussion

Coding Guidelines

• These codes may be reported only for established patients.
• The patient or patient’s parent/guardian must initiate the contact. These codes may not be used for calls initiated by a provider.
• Codes 99441-99443 are used only for services personally performed by a physician.
• Calls resulting in a face-to-face encounter for the same problem within 24 hours (or soonest available urgent appointment) are not reportable. Instead, consider the call part of the pre-service work for the billable E/M service.
• If the call relates to and occurs within 7 days of another E/M service performed and reported by the same provider for the same problem, the call is not reportable. This also means that a telephone call related to a previous call within 7 days is not reportable, since these codes are themselves an E/M service.
• Do not report a call that is related to and takes place within the postoperative period of a procedure performed by the same physician. These calls are considered to be part of the global surgical package.
• Telephone calls should not be reported for care plan oversight or anticoagulation management when the same communication is reported using codes 99339-99340, 99374-99380, or 99363-99364.

References:

http://www.todayshospitalist.com/index.php?b=articles_read&cnt=498   

http://www.acpinternist.org/archives/2008/01/billing.htm

http://www.memo-snap.com/memo-snap/cpt.htm

http://www.memo-snap.com/memo-snap/online.htm

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-management/20080229cptcodes.html

http://my.counseling.org/2009/10/29/is-phone-counseling-and-online-counseling-covered-by-insurance/

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=CPT+Code

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OTI has been remiss in offering regular blog posts these past couple of months but with good cause and great outcomes!

So what’s in store for 2010? Our authored book, Therapy Online: A Practical Guide was just released and we have another edited book, The Use of Technology in Mental Health: Applications, Ethics and Practice due out this summer. This book has 30 chapters with a total of 47 contributing authors from across the globe.

As promised, we are offering online training about online therapy. We have launched the first 6 workshops with more to come. Each workshop is the equivalent of 5 clock hours of instruction. The workshops are online and self-paced.  The cost per workshop is $119.00/70.00 £.

• Introduction to Cyberspace: A Primer for Helping Professionals
• Relationships in Cyberspace: An Introduction for Helping Professionals
• The Online Therapeutic Relationship: Theoretical Considerations
• Ethical Considerations of Online Therapy
• Working Therapeutically Using Asynchronous Email
• Working Therapeutically Using Synchronous Chat

The workshop details can be accessed at our training portal. We have partnered with DigitalChalk to bring you a user-friendly yet state-of-the-art experience. Continuing Education credits for U.S. psychologists, social workers and counselors will be available very soon.

www.onlinetherapyinstitute.digitalchalk.com.

Just create an account and peruse our catalog! Your account will remain active should you decide to return to take a course.

We are giving our website a facelift so resources are easier to navigate.

We will soon offer an Online Therapy Institute ~verified~ seal that will provide a way for online helping professionals to indicate to the public that their site meets standards of best practice.

We will be facilitating groups and workshops as well as co-sponsoring conferences online and at our Second Life location.

We are collaborating with others to add to our Ethical Framework resources.

We have created:

• Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology in Mental Health
• Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology for Career and School Guidance

Coming Soon:

• Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology in Professional Coaching
• Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology in Crisis, Disaster and Critical Incident Interventions
  

We are offering a directory listing to everyone who joins our social network at www.onlinetherapysocialnetwork.com and your listing will be posted at www.onlinetherapydirectory.net.

For OTI members who practice online, a website listing in the OTI Web Directory (online counseling category) will be added provided the following standards are met:

1. Offer encrypted services for email, chat and web conferencing.
2. List level of education, schools attended and dates graduated.
3. List certifications and licenses if applicable with verification web links.
4. List crisis information or a link on the website’s home page.
5. List therapist’s alternate contact information in addition to email.

Mostly, we will continue to encourage dialogue among our members and friends at Online Therapy Institute so that we can all learn and grow together!

Kate and DeeAnna

This conference was held at Leicester University on April 25, 2009 and was attended by approximately 35 delegates, with a further 40 online delegates who attended at various points remotely via a live feed, including both video stream from the face-to-face conference and remote chatroom debate concurrently.

The event was opened by Gill Jones of ACTO and Counselling Online Ltd – co-hosts of the conference.  An exciting and evolving programme emerged throughout the day, starting with a keynote from Jeannie Wright of New Zealand giving a remote presentation (pre-recorded) on “Only Connect”, covering some of the research linking expressive and reflective writing with online therapies.  A representative of BACP brought along copies of the Guidelines for purchase (see http://www.bacp.co.uk/publications/NEW%20PUBLICATIONS/onlinecounselling.php).

A change of programme meant that Dr. Stephen Goss, co-author of the recently published 3^rd Edition of the BACP Guidelines for Online Counselling and Psychotherapy, including Guidelines for Online Supervision (Anthony & Goss, 2009), stepped in at the last minute to explain the contents of the publication and the implications for the profession from a wider perspective regarding international ethical development of the field.

Due to further programme changes, the day evolved to include three workshops to run simultaneously – Anne Stokes on Online Supervision, Jane Evans on working online in HE and FE, and Gill Webb hosting a live online chat taster session.

Keynote speakers included Steph Palin covering the work of Relate with a live demonstration of how their chatroom support helps – a neat amalgamation of chat and website links within the same client screen.  Joe Ferns talked delegates through the work of the Samaritans online, with some stunning statistics and illustration of the exchanges the organisation receives through mobile texting.

The keynote in the latter part of the afternoon hosted a video interview with Audrey Jung (Pres-Elect of ISMHO) by Kate Anthony (Past-President of ISMHO) as interviewer about the state of play in the US, before going live to New Jersey to chat with DeeAnna Merz Nagel (also Past-President of ISMHO) as commentator on the interview and to answer delegate questions.

The panel of speakers, led by Anne Stokes, then answered questions from the floor for 50 minutes.

Although this was a small conference on a specialist subject, it is a great step forward for the profession in linking with people all over the world in not only observing the face-to-face presentations but also contributing from the OCTIA chatroom.  The chatroom, facilitated by the organisers, Kate Anthony and Stephen Goss – was projected onto the side wall of the conference suite so that the live chat and questions to the presenters emanating from it could be fed to the keynote speakers.  Furthermore, the conference will, with the help of OnlineEvents.co.uk, be available for download from the OCTIA website – including the pre-conference interviews with Gill Jones, Kate Anthony, and DeeAnna Merz Nagel – watch http://www.octia.org.uk.

Kate Anthony, MSc, FBACP

We have had several inquiries lately about membership at the Online Therapy Institute; particularly- what are the benefits of joining?

• Advertising
• Networking
• Media Opportunities
• Case Consultation

OTI offers several ways for people to collaborate, network and gain knowledge about mental health and technology.  We have free discussion groups through Linkedin, Facebook, Second Life and our own social network.  We blog and we tweet to keep everyone up-to-date on the latest happenings in the field.  Membership is not necessary through these groups and many are satisfied with the affiliation they currently have with us.  Becoming a member however, brings additional benefits. 

When a person, business, organization, educational institution or charity joins OTI we spread the word about their cause, services, products, or training. Beginning in 2009, all members who join receive a dedicated blog post which is fed to many blog directories and social networks such as Linkedin and Twitter.  We also create a listing in our Web Directory and the new listing is then fed to Twitter and other networks.  We create another way to advertise through social media and we promote our members by assisting with research projects, networking and offering media connections.  We promote member workshops and trainings related to mental health and technology through our blog and events calendar.

For qualified clinical members, we offer a secure and encrypted forum for peer supervision and one-off case consultation regarding online and face-to-face cases.  The forum is facilitated and feedback is offered by Kate Anthony and DeeAnna Merz Nagel.

If you interested in joining, access the membership form here. Come grow with us!! And please do not hesitate to ask any questions of us. 

Annual Membership Fees

$ 50.00 USD  INDIVIDUAL Clinical and Professional

$ 75.00 USD  ORGANISATIONAL Non-profit/Charity/Educational Institution/Association

$100.00 USD ORGANISATIONAL Business/Corporate

The Online Therapy Institute offers an Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology in Mental Health that incorporates the major points of existing codes and guidelines offering practitioners a way to ensure that thier therpeutic work via technology covers best practice. 

The framework’s audience is global and as new technologies and ethical issues arise, the framework will be revised and updated.  Practitioners who practice according to the framework can know that they are implementing the best standard of care available to their clients.

The framework is posted on the OTI website and is also offered as a PDF download.  Members of OTI who offer therapy delivered via technology will be listed in the OTI Web Directory provided their practice follows the framework.  Anyone may join the Institute. but the directory will be reserved for practitioners and organizations who have implemented the framework into their practice.

We are excited about offering this framework to all mental health practitioners!

Best,

DeeAnna and Kate

The Online Therapy Institute offers several venues to engage in vibrant discussion about bringing mental health and technology together. Online therapy, cyberpsychology, the use of the internet to enhance private practice, internet addiction and behavioral telehealth are but a few of the topics that pop up on our discussion boards.  We have groups and discussions located at LinksforShrinks, Facebook, Second Life, Linkedin and the Online Therapy Institute Social Network  Check out OTI on the Web!

For secure and encrypted communication with other Online Therapy Institute Clinical Members, consider joining and gain access to the OTI Member Forum. Clinical Members can staff cases and engage in peer supervision in a confidential environment.

See you online!

DeeAnna

While the debate rages on about whether or not internet addiction really exists or is an actual diagnosis, some people use the internet to the point that real world relationships become difficult to establish or maintain, tasks of daily living are effected and work is compromised.

More and more people are seeking psychotherapy and support for mental health issues online. Comfort with technology is closing the divide as access to quality services and navigation on the web becomes easier.

It might not be so unusual for someone who is struggling with an internet addiction to reach out for help on the internet. Determining whether or not this is a suitable approach should be on a case by case basis but let’s consider the following as a point for further thought:

A person who has a history of building unstable and untrustworthy virtual relationships may have the opportunity for a positive experience through therapeutic dialogue with a therapist via the internet.

This intervention may be as adjunct to an existing face-to-face relationship and the experience may be modulated as part of an overall plan. Or a person who may not consider face-to-face therapy may reach out on the internet when his or her life has become unmanageable. Interventions may be text-based via chat and/or email, videoconferencing/webcams or by using avatars in a virtual world such as Second Life.

What do you think?

DeeAnna

Known as the Virtual Space Station, a new project aims to give astronauts an onboard therapist for long-duration missions, either in Earth orbit or on longer journeys to the moon and Mars.

Astronauts suffering from depression, arguing with colleagues, or wrestling with their workload, will be able to receive video counselling from recordings by Mark Hegel, a psychologist at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

Read more at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/oct/25/nasa-space-astronaut-houston-therapy

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