Comparison of Telehealth-Related Ethics and Guidelines and a Checklist for Ethical Decision Making in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Run through the ten-item telehealth ethics checklist before every remote session to stay legal, private, and client-friendly.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Baumes et al. (2020) read every telehealth ethics code they could find. They compared rules from psychology, medicine, social work, counseling, and behavior analysis.
Then they built a one-page checklist for ABA providers who suddenly had to work on Zoom during COVID-19.
What they found
Each field says the same three things: protect privacy, get proper consent, and only practice within your training.
The checklist turns those big ideas into ten yes-or-no questions you can answer in two minutes before a session.
How this fits with other research
Morris et al. (2024) also give a six-step checklist, but for assent instead of telehealth. Both papers turn ethics into quick ticks you can do live.
Strain et al. (1977) warn that old ABA studies ignored client values. Baumes et al. (2020) add the modern twist: tech can create new ways to ignore values, so double-check.
Raiff et al. (2025) show adults like app-based rewards only when they keep control. That lines up with Baumes: let clients or parents choose camera-on or off to keep the same control.
Why it matters
Print the checklist. Tape it to your desk. Each remote session, answer: is the room private, is consent on file, is the tech working, and did the client choose to be here? If any box is no, fix it before you start. Two minutes saves your license and respects your client.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) services have been provided primarily in the fields of health care and education across various settings using an in-person service delivery model. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the necessity of and demand for ABA services using telehealth have increased. The purpose of the present article was to cross-examine the ethical codes and guidelines of different, but related fields of practice and to discuss potential implications for telehealth-based ABA service delivery. We reviewed the telehealth-specific ethical codes and guidelines of the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Association of Social Workers, along with the related ABA literature. These organizations addressed several useful and unique ethical concerns that have not been addressed in ABA literature. We also developed a brief checklist for ABA practitioners to evaluate their telehealth readiness by meeting the legal, professional, and ethical requirements of ABA services.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00475-2