Information on CE Workshops and Georgia Licensure in 2020 as Impacted by COVID-19
These are certainly difficult and anxiety-provoking times. With so many safety concerns consuming our attention, I wanted to clarify any confusion and assure you that you should have no difficulty meeting your CE requirements in order to renew your license this year.
“Due to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, for the 2018-2020 renewal cycle only, there shall be no limit on the number of continuing education hours, including ethics hours, that may be obtained online, by any method. This rule shall be effective for the duration of the emergency and for a period of not more than 120 days thereafter.” (Reference: Decision as approved by Governor Brian Kemp, effective April 2, 2020).
Update on CE Workshops I Currently Offer
Dates for CE workshops I currently offer will remain the same. For the foreseeable future, all my CE workshops that are currently offered face-to-face will instead be offered synchronously as LIVE webinars via ZOOM. This means I will meet “live” with participants in webinar format, rather than in-person. This will allow us to still interact in real time, even though we will not be face-to-face. Once the COVID-19 emergency has resolved, face-to-face workshops will resume. I will be sure to send notification to confirm the resumption of in-person, face-to-face workshops. But until then, as indicated above, all workshops currently scheduled will be offered LIVE via ZOOM webinar link that you will receive from me once you have registered.
Clarification on Telemental Health Rules and Practice
HIPAA requirements for telemental health and the rule related to practicing across state lines without licensure have been waived during the National Emergency. Be clear however that the words they use are “enforcement discretion”, which means providers will still be held accountable for following best practices with the delivery of telemental health services. This includes ensuring you are trained and are using HIPAA approved communication platforms. The link below will provide further clarification. Click here to learn more.
Clarification about Ethics CEs
As stated before, on 3/23/20, the licensing board voted to allow CEs online/webinars for this cycle, WITHOUT limits. It is my understanding that this includes Ethics. However I can’t find this written officially anywhere.
To give you some assurance and assist you in dealing with this potential, I will provide a promo code for FREE ADMISSION to one of my future 6 hr in-person Ethics workshops, if
- You attend(ed) one of my Ethics live webinars this year, and
- You submit(ted) this to satisfy your Ethics requirement, and
- You are selected by the board for a random CE audit, and
- Receive a “Notice to Cure” rejecting the 6 Ethics Live-webinar CE hrs you submitted
- Will be submitting the free in-person Ethics training to satisfy the “Notice to Cure”.
This should be a helpful backup plan just in case there are problems down the road. As I said, I believe the current licensure board waiver includes Ethics, so I really don’t anticipate this problem.
Eligibility requirements for “Notice to Cure” workshop assistance can be found here.
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