![]() Following a thorough risk analysis, some clinicians may decide that leaving emails on the server is sufficient to maintain them, as opposed to copying the emails into a record-keeping system. Most people can read their email on a computer, meaning emails can be printed and placed in a paper record, or copied and pasted into an electronic record.Īs noted in our article on Email and HIPAA Compliant Practice, emails sit on the servers of the companies that provide your email service. If a court subpoenas your records, the judge may find it reasonable to expect the full original text of communications, given that they arrived in your possession in a recorded format already.ĭepending on what equipment you have, or what services you’re using, getting the full text of a communication into your record will be more or less difficult. They are, by their nature, already recorded. Textual communications are a little different. ![]() Who wants a folder full of full-text transcriptions of 50-minute long sessions? We don’t usually expect human beings to remember and/or record entire conversations. They are generally conversations, which are ephemeral.That would be unreasonable for at least these two reasons: We don’t generally have to transcribe the entire contents of a therapy session or other therapeutic interaction every time we document. Textual Communications Are a Little Different From More Ephemeral Communications That includes documentation of sessions, information exchanged with other providers, and yes - it includes emails and texts exchanged with clients.Īll communications with a client are legally part of their health record, and thus we need to be mindful of how we regard the messages that sit in our Inboxes and texting record. As such, we need to remember that a “record” is much more than just the documents that sit in our filing cabinets or EHR systems.Ī record is any recorded information regarding a client’s care. Modern practice has broken out of the confines of consulting rooms, filing cabinets, and the occasional landline call. ![]() “What is a record?” I ask this question with students every year in Ethics class, and the answer looks very different from when I was in graduate school.
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