Should HIPAA matter to clinicians who aren’t covered under HIPAA?

If you aren’t a “covered entity” (the term HIPAA uses to identify healthcare providers under its authority) do you need to care what HIPAA says? In these situations is HIPAA irrelevant? The answer is both “yes” and “no.”

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Business Structures for Therapists

• Psychotherapists frequently have questions about choosing a business structure, especially when opening a private practice. “Business structures” doesn’t refer to the type of building in which your practice is housed. Rather, it refers to the type of business association you choose. For example, can you incorporate yourself (inc.)? Can you form a limited liability company (LLC)? What about a sole proprietorship? And if you choose one of these, what are the implications for personal liability protection and taxes?

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The Law and Different Types of Psychotherapists

The four most common psychotherapy professions in California are marriage and family therapists (MFT), psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists. Each of these professions are covered under at least four different, but interrelated, sections of statute. Note, however, that though there are different statutes that cover and regulate these different disciplines, there are many provisions in the law that apply to all professions. For example, while the Business and Professions Code has separate chapters that address the professions of social work and MFTs, the duty to protect established under the CA statute (which was passed by the legislature after the Tarasoff decisions) applies to all psychotherapists. One of the more critical elements of understanding mental health law as it applies to clinical practice is understanding how the law is applied to each profession, and also when the laws addressing specific professional disciplines render some laws inapplicable to those in another profession.

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