Legal, Regulatory, and Risk Management Issues in the Use of Technology to Deliver Mental Health Care

• We cover some key legal, regulatory, and risk management issues in telemental health.
• We emphasize licensure, malpractice, credentialing and privileging, security and privacy, and emergency management.
• We address some risk management issues related to mobile health.
• We highlight some risk management issues with social media use for mental health services.

Improved telecommunications networks and technologies have resulted in increased availability of technology-delivered mental health services to patients anywhere at any time, in particular to those patients in rural and isolated communities. This increased use of technology to deliver mental health care over a distance raises a number of regulatory issues relevant for safe and effective practice. In this article we cover some of the key legal, regulatory, and risk management issues in today’s telemental health (TMH) environment, with specific emphasis on licensure, malpractice, credentialing and privileging, security and privacy, and emergency management. The article further discusses some risk management considerations related to mobile health applications and the use of social networking to deliver TMH services. The information presented is expected to alleviate some risk concerns and provide a framework to effectively manage risk associated with telemental health care. This information should give any new or seasoned telemental health provider the foundation necessary to effectively manage risk associated with telemental health care.