Video recording of live telehealth sessions

HIPAA compliant video recording is one of those phrases that feels like an oxymoron, you know like jumbo shrimp, original copy and working vacation – the kind of phrases with words that seem contradictory. HIPAA compliant video means your teletherapy conversations are secure along with your data. So why record them? Doesn’t that make the videos and your conversations available to everyone everywhere? Those are good questions to ask and we’ll dive into those questions and a few others around HIPAA compliant video recordings.

HIPAA compliant video recordings background

Recording clients sessions is a relatively common practice that has been used for years in the counseling profession. Reasons range from grad school professors and supervisors using recordings for training purposes to clinicians using recordings to put a fine point on their documentation for quality assurance. Despite these use cases, opinion on the ethics and value of recording has been somewhat divided in the past.

Before any one of these clinically sound recordings can occur, however, a foundation needs to be established between the provider and the client. First, the client must agree to the recording and the clinician must have a sound understanding of the equipment before the recordings are made.

Informed consent for HIPAA compliant video recordings

Just as a client needs to agree to consent for care, a client also needs to agree to the sessions being recorded by signing an informed consent form.

The form should detail:

• Why the session is being recorded
• The method of recording (ie, audio, video)
• How the HIPAA compliant video recordings will be used (ie., will they enhance the client’s treatment)
• Whether the client will have access to the recordings
• Where the recordings can be accessed and for how long
• Whether the HIPAA compliant video recordings will be destroyed
• Any potential risks associated with recording the sessions

Discussing these factors with a client is also encouraged when administering the form. The client should also understand they have the right to withdraw from a HIPAA compliant video recording agreement.

Interacting with HIPAA compliant video recording technology

In addition to building the therapeutic relationship through transparency by informing the client of the purpose of the recordings, it’s also good for the clinician to understand the technology involved prior to a session recording. 

Conducting a few dry runs with colleagues and running a few sound checks to determine whether the equipment is in good working order before the recordings take place is a good practice. 

Questions to ask include:

• Are you receiving feedback? 
• Is the lighting too poor to see client facial expressions, for example? 
• Can you understand what the clinician and the client are saying? 

All of these are important questions to ask before embarking on HIPAA compliant video recordings. Also, establishing that the technology is working prior to the session will help keep the session free of distraction, which can lead to better client outcomes.

Recordings should not breach the therapeutic relationship.

Storing HIPAA compliant video recordings

As with all  formal medical records, any video or audio recordings made by a healthcare provider are covered under the HIPAA Privacy Rule and must be securely stored.

Most HIPAA compliant video recordings can automatically be saved in a client’s chart as part of an EHR tool, and you can review videos at any time and even share them with your clients. Your clients will receive an email notification and would need to login to the client portal to view session recordings. 

All recorded videos (audio) are encrypted and stored according to HIPAA’s regulations in the cloud in tools like TheraPlatform eliminating the need of your practice or organization to store videos on your computers and encrypting your own computers.

What are the costs for HIPAA compliant video recordings? 

Prices may vary according to circumstance and vendor. TheraPlatform, for example, charges a $ 0.03 cents per minute recording fee but there are no extra fees for storing the videos.

Resources

TheraPlatform is an all-in-one teletherapy platform that allows clinicians to record telehealth sessions with their clients. They also provide EHR and practice management tools to help streamline private practice management. Additionally, they offer a 30-day trial with no credit card required.