Notes in a notebook, a laptop and a personal cloud drive
You write notes by hand after sessions, then type some of them up on your laptop. Older clients' files are in a locked cabinet at home. A few documents, such as assessment forms and letters, are in a personal Dropbox because that was the easiest way to get them onto your phone.
In a group practice, it is multiplied. Each associate keeps records their own way. When an associate leaves, nobody is quite sure what they took, what they left, and where the records of their clients now sit.
You know this is not ideal. You also know that fixing it means making decisions about software, access and old files that there is never a quiet week to make.
Why records end up everywhere
It is rarely carelessness. Therapists train in the work, not in information management, and early practice starts with a notebook and a laptop because that is all there is. Each new need gets its own quick fix.
- Paper notes because typing during or after sessions felt wrong.
- A laptop folder because it was already there.
- A personal cloud drive because documents had to reach a phone.
- Email attachments because a client sent a form back that way.
No one ever decided where the practice's records live, who can see which ones, and what happens when someone leaves. So the answer is: wherever they landed.
The risk you carry in the meantime
| Situation | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Stolen or lost laptop | Client records on an unencrypted device, with no way to know what was on it |
| Associate leaves | Unclear which records stay with the practice and which go |
| Records request | Hours pulling documents from four places and hoping you found them all |
| Personal cloud accounts | Practice records mixed with family photos under a personal login |
| No access log | No way to show who opened a record, or when |
What you are required to do with records is for your professional body, your insurer and your own adviser to guide. What we can do is make the practical side of it tidy enough to follow.
One place for client records, set up properly
- Choose the home. Often this is a practice management system you already have (many therapists use Cliniko or WriteUpp), or a locked-down Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace area. We only build something custom when neither fits.
- Set access by therapist. Each therapist sees their own clients. The practice lead or manager sees what your policy says they should, and nobody else does.
- Protect sign-in. Two-step sign-in on every account, encrypted devices, and no records stored on personal drives.
- Keep an access log. Who opened which record, and when, is recorded automatically.
- Move the existing files. We inventory the laptop folders, drives and email attachments, move them into the right client file, and give you a list of what moved and what needs your decision.
- Back it up and test the restore, so a backup exists that someone has actually opened.
Paper notes can stay on paper if that is how you prefer to work. We can set up a simple scan-and-file routine, or leave paper alone and just record where each client's paper file is kept.
After the move
Every client's record is in one place under one login. If a laptop is lost, the device is encrypted and the records were never on it. When an associate leaves, their access is removed in one step and their clients' records stay where your policy says.
A records request becomes a search rather than a hunt through old folders, and you can show who accessed what if you are ever asked.
A quick practice check
- Client documents sit in a personal cloud account or email inbox.
- You are not sure every laptop holding notes is encrypted.
- Associates each keep records in their own way.
- Finding everything about one client means checking several places.
- You have no record of who has opened a client file.