Confidentiality when tipped with a check

singleagain

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 9:54 pm

I just looked at my bank and I can edit the description of a check so see if you can do that on your bank. Then you can deposit the check and then in the description you can write "payment from speech client" This way if your husband looks, he'll know not to look at the image but he'll know what that money is from.

ra_mom

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 9:56 pm

amother OP wrote:

I work as a speech therapist in a school and was tiped by 2 students with a check. I'm always extremely careful with confidentiality.

Is it ok to have my husband deposit the checks (it has their last namse on it )? Should I rather deposit it (less likely he will see it in that case, but there's still the possibility he needs to check the bank statements for something. (This has come up in past already and I've always just deposited it myself....but now my husband is more involved in finances that he used to be, and sometimes looks things up and etc)

Should I assume the parents are ok with it - since they chose to give a check and they know I'm married ?
Do I need to ask the parents or am I being to extreme (this is speech therapy not counseling)?

It makes a difference that you're a speech therapist and not a mental health therapist.

Let your husband deposit it into your joint account without issue.

amother

Purple

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 10:06 pm

amother Pumpkin wrote:

I dont consider a husband breaching confidentiality.
my husband \knows lots of confidential information from my place where I work.

Completely unethical and a breach of the law. If you are a HIPAA covered entity (ie ever got an NPI or billed insurance/Medicaid ever via internet you are included) you are in major violation of the law.
The law and ethical guidelines don't say "except for my husband".

I am HIPAA covered and my husband does not know a single client of mine. Even when we bumped into one in public and they said hi to me first I couldn't tell my husband how I knew them.

I hope you were never my provider or my children's provider. Someone should report you for this honestly. Can't Believe It

amother

Purple

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 10:07 pm

ra_mom wrote:

It makes a difference that you're a speech therapist and not a mental health therapist.

Let your husband deposit it into your joint account without issue.

It actually doesn't make a difference.

amother

Daisy

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 10:08 pm

ra_mom wrote:

It makes a difference that you're a speech therapist and not a mental health therapist.

Let your husband deposit it into your joint account without issue.

This is not ok. HIPAA applies to speech therapists as well.

amother

Ruby

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 10:10 pm

ra_mom wrote:

It makes a difference that you're a speech therapist and not a mental health therapist.

Let your husband deposit it into your joint account without issue.

Legally there isn't a difference.

amother

Chestnut

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 10:12 pm

amother Pumpkin wrote:

I dont consider a husband breaching confidentiality.
my husband \knows lots of confidential information from my place where I work.

It's not up to you to decide what is considered breaching confidentiality. There are laws.

I'm a speech therapist and don't tell my dh anything.

mommyX2

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 10:18 pm

Can't you walk in to the bank and cash the check vs depositing it? Then no image is saved afaik. I personally wouldn't care at all though if it were me that gave the check

amother

Wine

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 2:02 pm

As a parent of kids who are in or have had speech therapy, I wouldn't care if your husband saw the checks.

I don't know the legalities, but to me there is a difference between discussing cases with your husband (not ok) and the maybe that your husband might see names on a check.

amother

Denim

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 2:09 pm

amother Pumpkin wrote:

I dont consider a husband breaching confidentiality.
my husband \knows lots of confidential information from my place where I work.

Once I met a lady and after asking who I was she said o my husband takes your child out.
I was very not happy to say the least. And I looked down at her husband since. I came home and told my husband that that is not nice!

MommyM

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 8:44 pm

amother Wine wrote:

I agree. My kids have speech therapy in school, and I personally wouldn't have even thought of that being an issue.

I think the best idea, which was mentioned above, is to deposit them yourself and tell your husband not to look at the images.

amother

Oxfordblue

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 8:48 pm

amother Zinnia wrote:

Legally, halachically, & ethically, this is actually a tremendous breach of confidentiality & if you need to keep things confidential by law & policy, then it is extremely wrong of you to disclose information to your husband. You are fooling your clients & you have absolutely no right to disclose information without their permission. If you disclose information that's meant to be confidential, you have no business being in the profession you are in. It's not for you.

I'm not sure about Halachically though...
Specifically between husband and wife

amother

Purple

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 8:54 pm

amother Wine wrote:

There is no legal difference in the issue. Are you saying Client names are OK to tell if they don't share what the issue is?
So your mental health therapist can tell her husband "I see Rivka Klein" (made up name) as long as she doesn't say "it's for the childhood abuse"?

Same laws apply. You can't tell.

amother

NeonOrange

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 8:59 pm

Am I the only one who doesn't get the question? My 4 year old has speech and OT and seit. First of all my husband is officially supposed to know who they are (he doesn't bother to check the group chat though) and second of all how is this hipaa... They're servicing OUR child...

amother

PlumPink

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 9:01 pm

amother Purple wrote:

There is no legal issue. Client names are OK to tell if they don't share what the issue is?
So your mental health therapist can tell her husband "I see Rivka Klein" (made up name) as long as she doesn't say "it's for the childhood abuse"?

Same laws apply.

You’re trying to say there are no ethical issues here? What if you’re a reproductive endocrinologist and you say nothing about my situation but tell your husband you treat me? Dear G-d…

mommyX2

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 9:04 pm

amother NeonOrange wrote:

Yes you didn't get it Wink

this is referring to the husband of the therapist, not the husband of the person whose child is getting the therapy

Last edited by mommyX2 on Tue, Jan 02 2024, 9:05 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Foxglove

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 9:18 pm

amother Oxfordblue wrote:

I'm not sure about Halachically though...
Specifically between husband and wife

Even in halacha there are times that keeping secrets from your spouse is permitted, one of those times is when someone else's privacy is at stake.....

amother

Foxglove

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 9:20 pm

amother Purple wrote:

Assuming your husband knows what you do, what difference does the reason why you treat clients make? If you're a mental health therapist, I'm sure your husband is smart enough to understand why you're seeing this Rivka Klein.
I see I misread your post, I'm sorry.

amother

Lemonlime

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 9:25 pm

Most people aren’t embarrassed to be going to speech, if it was actual therapy I would have a problem with you not having a separate business account but for just cashing an occasional tip I don’t think you need a separate account.