Ethical Concerns
How to Ethically Run Web Based Care
In the article by Hilgart, M., Thorndike, F., Pardo, J., & Ritterband, L., (2012) the ethical way to run web based care is discussed. With any type of care there needs to be consent. Being that people tend to skip or quickly skim long texts that they are told to read online the importance of this needs to be stressed. Any type of online help needs to strongly encourage the reading of the implied consent form. In it the practitioner needs to lay out exactly what can be expected and what kind of care they are getting. Hilgart et al., (2012) also stresses the importance of privacy and confidentiality. In face to face therapy there are hard copies that are kept secure, but with online therapy documents and sensitive information are often stored online. The very nature of the internet puts some of this information at risk. There could be technical problems, software errors, or hacks that could jeopardize the security. Whoever is running the site needs to have an appropriate amount of security software. Even still the practitioner needs to make sure that the client knows the inherent risks to security due to the heavy use of the internet. The security of the records taken are held to the standard of Hilgart et al., (2012) "the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)". The financial set up of online care also needs to be clearly outlined. The client needs to know exactly what care/services they are getting for there money so that way they are not feeling taken advantage of or in need of a service they thought they were provided with but are not. This being said Hilgart et al., (2012) cautions that online care has its place. No matter how ethically and well it is designed and ran online care has its limitations. Those in need of immediate serious help should not turn to online care. Also those that are poorly skilled in the use of computers/the internet and those that have difficulty reading should take caution with online care due to the fact that they will most likely not be getting the full effect of it. In any of these situations the practitioner should caution the client of the issues and suggest an alternative form of treatment.