CDC stresses telemedicine for COVID-19 patient care through online triage. Stop the Spread
WeCounsel provides secure, cloud-based engagement solutions so modern behavioral health practices can interact effectively with their clients, online. We offer HIPAA compliant video conferencing solutions tied to a powerful set of engagement tools to support client management functionality.
Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration.
WeCounsel operates over a completely secure, HIPAA compliant online platform. WeCounsel ensures this by having business associate agreements in place with our data center to guarantee any sensitive information generated on the site is secured to HIPAA standards. WeCounsel’s policies and procedures also include the administrative, technical, and physical safeguards required for the security of protected health information when using electronic health IT. We also train our staff on HIPAA standards and conduct annual risk assessments to ensure our solution is HIPAA compliant. Our website also employs 256 bit SSL encryption while our video conferencing software employs 128 bit SSL encryption. This is not only super secure and private but also completely HIPAA compliant.
All media traffic is encrypted regardless of the endpoint used (i.e. web or mobile) or the session setup you choose (P2P or multiparty). This encryption ensures safety while using the WeCounsel solution, even in an open public hotspot. The core protocols providing WebRTC security are SRTP for media traffic encryption and DTLS-SRTP for key negotiation, which are defined by the IETF.
WeCounsel’s endpoints use the AES cipher with 128-bit keys to encrypt audio and video, and HMAC-SHA1 to verify data integrity.
The endpoints generate random keys at the beginning of each session and they change periodically during the session to increase safety.
Licensed mental health providers are legally permitted to treat their clients through a HIPAA compliant video conferencing system, so no additional license or certification is required. However, it is the provider’s responsibility to be trained in the medium through which they choose to deliver mental health services. WeCounsel strongly recommends additional training and certification for professionals providing telemedicine services. Training and online counseling certification can be accessed at telehealth.org or allceus.com.
Mental health providers are only allowed to deliver treatment to clients who live in a state in which they hold a current license. Providers can, however, obtain licenses in multiple states. Click here for details.
Providers in the WeCounsel network provide their bank account and router number in order for client payments to be deposited directly into their bank account. WeCounsel uses a payment processor to transact credit card payments between clients and their providers. Providers can charge clients their normal fees or adjust their fees as they see fit. Providers can bill their client after a session, and WeCounsel will hold the funds for a minimum of 7 days. Payments are then deposited into the provider’s bank account at the end of every Friday.
By law, telemedicine services are currently reimbursable through Medicare and Medicaid in over forty states. There are 30 states that have legislation requiring commercial insurance to reimburse for telehealth. Every state has different laws, regulation, and conditions. Contact your telehealth resource center for more information. Learn more about telehealth Policy and Legislation.
Studies show that telemedicine not only provides a comfortable secure setting for care, but can also help improve outcomes. Click here to see how clients often prefer video conferencing to in-person treatment in a clinical environment. Also, check out this research study that illustrates how telemedicine is positively affecting the way veterans receive care.
To use WeCounsel all you need is a computer with a built-in camera and an adequate internet connection. If your computer does not have an internal camera, an external one can be purchased at any office supply retailer like Amazon.com for as little as $10. View recommendation.
Compatible Platforms:
Compatible Browsers
While WeCounsel’s video software can function effectively at very low bandwidth levels, we recommend that users have 1mbps DOWN and 1mbps UP. You can test your connection before a session by clicking here.
