Security and Confidentiality in Mental Health Practice

Encryption Software in the Mental Health Practice, Part 1

As a mental health professional, you will have certain obligations -- some legal, some ethical -- regarding confidentiality and the security of materials related to your practice. The first part of this article offers some brief notes on the types of encryption solutions available, while Part 2 explores their advantages and disadvantages and offers specific software suggestions.

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Encryption Software in the Mental Health Practice, Part 2

This second part of this article explores the advantages and disadvantages of two different approaches to encryption and offers specific software suggestions, while Part 1 provides some brief notes on the types of encryption solutions available.

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Backup Basics -- Or, How to Avoid Using Data Recovery Services!

What would you do if all your practice data suddenly disappeared? Data recovery services exist to help extract files from mangled hard drives, but there's a better way to keep your practice going in the event of a major problem with your computer hardware: make sure to include a sound backup strategy as part of your overall security planning.

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One Example of a (Hopefully!) Sound Backup Strategy

This brief case study in backup strategy describes how I maintain backups of my own personal and practice data; while my own approach certainly won't fit everybody's needs, I believe it fits mine, and I hope some aspects of it might be useful to other practitioners.

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Buying Digital Certificates -- Protecting Confidential Data With SSL

With prices for the most expensive digital certificates coming in at over 300 times more than the least expensive, it pays to be sure of what you're buying when you cough up the cash for a server certificate. Here's what the SSL certificate companies would rather you didn't know. Part 2 of this article describes my personal experiences buying digital certificates.

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Ethics and Encryption in the Mental Health Practice

This article comments on some ethical issues relating to encryption.

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Do UK Mental Health Professionals Need to Register (Notify) Under the Data Protection Act?

Within the mental health profession in the UK, there seems to be a widespread perception that practitioners are exempt from registering under the Data Protection Act 1998. To my mind, this seems like collective professional self-deception.

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