This is a techie DIY for this week. A genius SLP in my district utilizes Google Drive for data tracking. After playing around with this method, and falling in love with the simplicity and Earth-Friendlyness of it for attendance tracking, I just HAD to share it with you! It has been a time and lifesaver for this multiple-building SLP! Below are images and screenshots of the process. Let me know if you have any questions or if I haven’t explained something in great enough detail. Click on any image to view a larger version. I hope this helps some of you with keeping data…
Other FAQ about this topic:
Q: Is this accessible on the iPad?
A: Yes, you can access this form or response form on your iPad for tracking on the go!
Q: Are google docs HIPAA compliant?
A: This answer is a little ambiguous. I found a few articles that spell out some answers (Click here and Here) but I would caution you against using information such as DOB or SSN. Other information, if you store it correctly (Security setting for you only to be able to view it!) then you should be safe with most information.
Is Google Drive HIPAA compliant? I have heard from one person that it is, one person (at my school) that we have a server that keeps things private, and multiple people (including my school psych and another SLP who sent me a link) that it is not. What is your knowledge in this area?
I added a few links above in the FAQ section. I hope that helps, thanks for the question!
So services are never “HIPAA-Compliant.” A better question is “Can you as a therapist be HIPAA-Compliant on Google?”
The answer is: It Depends on following some important rules-
1) You MUST have a Business Associates Agreement with Google (you can ONLY get this if you are a Google Apps user–monthly fee of at least $5/mo)–so without this, you are automatically NOT HIPAA compliant.
2) How you send data is really important. For instance, regular ol’ email even with Google Apps — NOT HIPPA compliant when you send PHI. You will need to encrypt the email. There are some ways to do that using 3rd party extensions, but Google does not offer this by default.
3) How you transmit data is also very important. It’s your responsibility to ensure your connection is secure. Using the Free Public Wifi at the Airport—very risky, MAY NOT be HIPAA compliant.
4) How you store data and protect that data with TWO layers of security is also key. HIPAA says “Two layers” of protection are needed. So one MAY interpret that as meaning a single password to get to the data is not enough. 2-step verification is a good antidote for this problem. Highly recommended. IN ADDITION, you must ensure those files on G-Drive are stored in such a way that they are not discoverable. So using “unique links” that anyone who has can see…that may not be HIPAA compliant–see “two layer” rule.
5) Where you save data to from G-Drive is probably the area that exposes you to being most at risk for not being HIPAA compliant. Lots of people click on a doc in G-Drive and it downloads it to whatever computer they’re on. Is this computer the covered entity’s? If it is a personal computer and this is for your work-place…you may have just broken HIPAA. Same goes for your phone. Again you need TWO layers of security AND your device needs to be encrypted. Google Apps for Business is encrypted but the second you “save the document” by downloading it (versus viewing it in the browser where it stays on Google servers), you have made an unencrypted copy on a local device. If that device is not encrypted the second you download the document you have violated HIPAA. The SECOND YOU DOWNLOAD IT. Erasing it doesn’t count. So to be safe, encrypt all your devices (you can turn this setting on quite easily for your computer–and is a MUST for laptops), and you should use a password (ALWAYS). AND you should ensure there is an additional layer of security somewhere in there (locking your laptop away at all times counts as a layer of security).
That a great idea! How would you tweak this for a group where the time and activity were the same, but comments/other were unique for each child?
I have each child entered separately. For a group, I enter the student, the date and time and the setting as “therapy room – group”. I will write the activity and any notes in the boxes and press submit. Luckily, you can easily hit “back” and return to the form with all of the information still intact. From this, I simply change the student and data while all other information (date, time, activity, duration, etc.) remains the same. I press submit again and a separate entry is recorded for that student. I can do this as many times as necessary for each student in the group! It’s very quick – I would say 1-3 minutes per group to enter all students and information into the form. It’s the most in-depth attendance I’ve ever taken!
I love this and started using this the end of last school year! I look at my DATA results every other Friday to see if I need to refocus or restructure therapy for a student! This is also wonderful for when I’m going to meet with a parent… BAM wonderful visual graph! Also, I love it because it is fast and I have it ANYWHERE I GO! I have each child on a separate form. I place the form link in a favorites folder by the days/time I see them and open up all my windows for the day and have them lined up on the bottom. I also implanted a rating scale of their responses this year so I can rate their first 10 trials with more than a correct/incorrect/half point for a response with a cue. Now I can look back and see if they are independently correct, self correcting, 1 cue, multiple cues, approximation, no response, etc. I AM LOVING IT!!!!!!
Have you experimented with the Goobric add-on for creating rubrics for collecting data? It seems like it could be powerful, but I just found out about it and am not quite sure how to make it work.
I haven’t heard of this at all… I’ll need to check it out!
Would you be able to share this form with me? Thanks
I no longer have this form. You can easily create your own based on your needs and the example given. I hope it helps!
I record service time in minutes per month. Do you know of any way to compile responses that it will add times together from multiple submissions. (to keep track of total monthly minutes)
Thank for your help!
Abbie, You could try a Google sheet which tracks time in therapy over the entire year and then gives an annual summary, among many other things.
thank you for all this great info on making Google forms! I am going to try it this year for my therapy data.