Episode 615: Your Data is Not Your Own: Why VC-Owned Healthcare Wants Your Information

Welcome solo and group practice owners! We are Liath Dalton and Evan Dumas, your co-hosts of Group Practice Tech.

In our latest episode, we share a cautionary tale about a Talkspace client whose healthcare information was weaponized against them.

We discuss:

• Venture capital firms buying therapy practices, monetizing, and weaponizing client data to make more money
• A recent case where a Talkspace client’s data was read aloud in court
• Platforms using client communication to train LLMs and AI platforms
• How these platforms are profoundly detrimental to clients, therapists, and the profession
• Why when something seems too easy and convenient, you are often the product (and your clients are the product)
• How these companies operate outside of HIPAA Security Rule standards
• The importance of vetting platforms and having BAAs for safeguarding client information

Listen here: https://personcenteredtech.com/group/podcast/

For more, visit our website.

Resources

• Story referenced in episode re: employee termination and litigation using all their session data/content from Talkspace chatbot
• Story regarding AI models failing ethics standards and standards of care

PCT Resources

• Live (and recorded) PCT CE Course: Beyond Hype and Anxiety: A Practical Framework for Ethical AI Use in Clinical Practice is a 4-hour legal-ethical CE training co-presented by Dr. Maelisa McCaffrey and Liath Dalton, designed to help clinicians move beyond fear and guesswork into confident, responsible AI use. The course provides a structured, real-world framework for integrating AI into clinical workflows while upholding HIPAA requirements, ethical standards, and clinical standards of care. Participants will learn how to evaluate AI tools, understand what constitutes PHI (and the limits of de-identification), implement appropriate policies and safeguards, and maintain documentation quality and clinical integrity. With practical tools, decision-making frameworks, and implementation strategies, this training supports clinicians in making informed, defensible decisions about AI use in practice.
  • Live Webinar Presentation on May 8th, 2026
  • Registration for live training includes receiving ownership of and perpetual access to the on-demand self-study CE training produced from recording of live presentation. Get both the content *and* the CE, even if you can’t join live.
• PCT's recommended/curated collection of role-based foundational and topical needs-based staff trainings, including HIPAA and Privacy Ethics for clinical staff, admins; leadership trainings; clinical staff teletherapy training; director/supervisor training; and topical trainings on documentation, rights of access, suicidality, accessibility, countertransference, and much more.
  • Nationally respected, role-based HIPAA and privacy ethics and teletherapy training built for mental health staff
  • On-demand trainings are accessible in perpetuity and do not expire.
  • APA, NBCC, and multiple state licensing board CE provider approvals mean that CE courses count towards licensure renewal requirements for your clinical team.
• Group Practice Care Premium
  • weekly (live & recorded) direct support & consultation service, Group Practice Office Hours — including monthly session with therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC
  • Device Security Suite: assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Bring Your Own Device training + access to Device Security Center with step-by-step device-specific tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting all personally owned & practice-provided devices (for *all* team members at no per-person cost)
  • Remote Workspace Security Suite: assignable staff HIPAA Security Awareness: Remote Workspaces training for all team members + access to Remote Workspace Center with step-by-step tutorials & registration forms for securing and documenting Remote Workspaces (for *all* team members at no per-person cost) + more
• PCT’s Comprehensive HIPAA Security Compliance Program (discounted) bundles:
  • • For Group Practices
  • For Solo Practitioners
    • Comprehensive HIPAA Security Policies & Procedures
    • Forms & Logs for documenting implementation and maintenance of Policies & Procedures in practice
    • Device & Workspace Security Suites
    • Direct Support & Consultation from PCT team + therapist attorney Eric Ström, JD PhD LMHC (live & recorded + searchable library)
    • Includes the Risk Analysis & Risk Mitigation Planning service + tool
  • HIPAA Security & Privacy Ethics training