How to Evaluate Your Current EHR or Make an Informed Decision about a New One - 3 hours
To access the discount form for registering for multiple workshops or participants, please click here.
When & Where:
- Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026
- If you cannot attend this workshop on 10/8, you can pre-register for the on-demand version here: https://www.theknowledgetree.org/p/ehrs-online
- Time: 1:00pm - 4:15pm Eastern Time
- CE Hours Included: 3 (please see below for details)
- Location: Live Interactive Webinar ("Synchronous") on Zoom
- Investment: $87 before Friday, September 25th at 5:00pm Eastern Time, $97 after
- Presented by: Susan C. Litton, Ph.D. (see bio below)
- Workshop Recording: A recording of this workshop is available to review for 60 days after the presentation. However, participants must attend live to receive the "Synchronous" CE Certificate.
- Instruction Level: Intermediate
- Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists
Learning Objectives:
After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will be able to:
- Develop an ability to evaluate your own EHR to determine whether it can allow you to practice legally and ethically. (If you have never used an EHR, this can be applied to any EHR you research on the Web.)
- Demonstrate ability to critically examine the Terms of Service and BAA that is provided by an EHR provider
- Construct a personalized checklist of criteria to use when evaluating any EHR — current or future — that addresses legal compliance, ethical standards, data privacy, and clinical functionality.
Workshop Description:
Is your EHR putting your license at risk? Most mental health professionals choose their Electronic Health Record based on price, features, or what their colleagues are using — but very few know what questions to ask before signing on the dotted line. The wrong EHR can expose you to HIPAA violations, ethical breaches, and even licensing board complaints without you ever knowing it. In fact, some of the most widely used and heavily marketed EHR platforms are among the worst offenders when it comes to data privacy and ethical practices — proof that popularity is no substitute for due diligence.
This workshop cuts through the confusion with a practical, no-jargon guide to evaluating any EHR — whether you're shopping for your first one, reconsidering your current system, or simply wanting to know if you're truly protected. Using a practical evaluation framework, you'll leave with concrete concepts and criteria you can apply immediately. Topics include data ownership and privacy policies, HIPAA compliance, telehealth integration, ethical considerations, and what the fine print in your Terms of Service is actually saying about YOUR clients' data. Because when it comes to your EHR, what you don't know CAN hurt you.
Workshop Agenda:
- Why This Talk Exists: The EHR Landscape Has Changed (60 mins)
- Are all EHRs really created equal? (Spoiler: No.)
- How most clinicians choose their EHR — and why that's no longer enough
- Understanding the Terms of Service — and what they mean for YOUR license and YOUR clients
- What HIPAA actually requires from your EHR — and what "HIPAA-friendly" marketing claims really mean
- What a Good EHR Actually Looks Like (60 mins)
- Introducing the EHR Evaluation Wheel
- Green flags: what to look FOR in an EHR
- HIPAA compliance with BAA
- Integrated tools, encrypted communication
- User-friendly, customizable, established product
- Yellow flags: proceed with caution
- Interoperability concerns
- Commercial email/text
- Open source products
- Red flags: serious warning signs
- Unsafe data use policies
- Legal and ethical issues
- AI concerns
- Owned by a conglomerate
- Abandoned products
- You Can Do This: Building Your Personal EHR Checklist (60 mins)
- From the wheel to your wallet — making an informed decision
- Constructing your personal EHR evaluation checklist
- Reading the fine print: Terms of Service and BAA walkthrough
- Q&A — bring your questions, bring your doubts, leave with confidence
Presented by: Susan C. Litton, Ph.D.
Susan C. Litton, Ph.D., holds degrees in both mental health and IT and is actively engaged in careers in both fields. In mental health, she’s a clinical psychologist in private practice. As an IT professional, she’s the creator and driving force behind PSYBooks (www.psybooks.com), an online practice management system (EHR) for mental health professionals. She was asked to write a peer-reviewed article for the American Psychological Association, which can be accessed here: The Wild & Wooly World of Electronic Health Records
Workshop Schedule (Eastern Time):
- 12:30pm - 1:00pm | Sign-In and Welcome
- 1:00pm - 2:30pm | Session
- 2:30pm - 2:45pm | Break
- 2:45pm - 4:15pm | Session
- 4:15pm | Continuing Education Certificates Available
3 CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:
- PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This course offers 3.0 Hours for Psychologists. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
- COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. This course offers 3.0 Hours for Counselors.
- GA: Counselors in GA will receive 3 Core Hours for completing this course. Please click here for more detailed information.
- SOCIAL WORKERS: The Knowledge Tree, a Summit Professional Education Company, provider #2470, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 1/14/2026-1/14/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 3 general continuing education credits.
- GA: Social Workers in GA will receive 3 Core Hours for completing this course. Please click here for more detailed information.
- MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT), 3.0 Core Hours. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
Registration: To register for individual workshops, you may use our online payment option, or to pay by check you may print and complete the Registration Form and mail or fax it to our office. The registration form is available on our website: www.theknowledgetree.org. Registration is permitted until the time the workshop begins, unless otherwise specified.
Multiple Workshop Special: There is a 10% Discount with registration for two workshops. There is a 15% Discount with registrations for three or four workshops. There is a 20% Discount with registration for five or more workshops.
Refund/Cancellation Policy: If you can no longer attend a workshop you have registered for, you can either receive a credit for another workshop or receive a refund if you are within the refund policy period. Refunds will be given for cancellations received at least five days prior to the workshop. More information about refund/cancellation can be found here.
Attendance Policy: 100% attendance and completion of a course evaluation is required at any CE program in order to receive credit for that CE program. No partial credit is given. Certificates of completion will be available in each attendee’s account once the broadcast has ended and the course evaluation completed.
ADA Requests: We will make every effort to accommodate any reasonable ADA request. Please call or email us at least two weeks prior to the event. Payment and registration are required to fulfill an ADA request.
No Conflict Policy: Neither The Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.
System Requirements: Live Interactive Webinars are facilitated via Zoom. System requirements for the Zoom platform are linked at our FAQ page.
We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.
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For information about our Continuing Education Workshops, please contact our Customer Service team at: theknowledgetree@summit.zendesk.com |
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