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The Virtual En-psych-lopedia
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Suggested Principles of Professional Ethics for the Online Provision of Mental Health Services

These suggested principles are being developed by a joint committee, co-chaired by Martha Ainsworth and myself, of the International Society for Mental Health Online and the Psychiatric Society for Informatics. There are different versions: This work was presented as "Suggested Principles of Professional Ethics for Telepsychiatry on the Internet" at the 2000 American Telemedicine Association annual meeting and then published:

Reference:

Hsiung, R.C. (2001). Suggested Principles of Professional Ethics for the Online Provision of Mental Health Services. Telemedicine Journal and E-Health, 7 (1), 39-45.

Abstract:

The goal of this project was to suggest principles of professional ethics for the online provision of clinical mental health services that could guide clinicians who provide and patients who receive such services. A joint committee of the International Society for Mental Health Online (ISMHO) and the Psychiatric Society for Informatics (PSI) was formed. Discussion and development of these principles took place online. A set of principles was produced and endorsed by ISMHO on January 9, 2000, and by PSI on May 13, 2000. The principles involve informed consent (about the process, the clinician, the potential risks and benefits, safeguards, and alternatives), standard operating procedure (competence, legal requirements, the structure of the services, evaluation, multiple treatment providers, confidentiality, records, and existing guidelines), and emergencies (procedures and local backup). This project demonstrates that traditional principles of professional ethics can be extended to online services, that comprehensive ethical principles can be developed by groups that cross disciplinary and national boundaries, and that productive collaboration can take place entirely online; and suggest that online clinicians have the potential to regulate themselves.

Complete article:

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Source:

General information
Online issues

This is a work in progress. Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome. To contribute to this process, please visit Tele-Psycho-Babble, a message board devoted to discussion of these guidelines and "distance" -- particularly online -- mental health services in general. Thanks! [new]

[ Tele-Psycho-Babble | International Society for Mental Health Online | Psychiatric Society for Informatics | ABCs of Internet Therapy ]

[dr. bob] Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD, dr-bob@uchicago.edu

Revised: October 18, 2001
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/ismho/suggestions.html
May be reproduced without explicit permission as long as no charge is assessed and the source is cited.