June 13th, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) is voice-only as long as the eligible healthcare provider and healthcare plan (the eligible entity) comply with the Health Insurance Interoperability and Accountability Act. We have issued guidance to advise you on our ability to provide telemedicine services. 1996 (“HIPAA”) Privacy, Security, and Violation Notification Rules (HIPAA Rules). Audio-only telemedicine is available for these individuals because many individuals may not have access to the technology used for audio-video telemedicine due to factors such as financial limitations, disabilities, or limited English proficiency. It’s a great alternative to meet your needs. Eligible healthcare providers can provide voice-only telemedicine services using remote communication technologies that comply with the requirements of HIPAA regulations.
In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (“PHE”), the HHS Citizenship Authority (“OCR”) issued a telemedicine notice to address licensed telemedicine services. did. Telemedicine notices are valid until the Secretary of State declares that PHE does not exist, or until the PHE currently set for July 15, 2022 expires. In accordance with the telemedicine notice, OCR exercises its enforcement discretion. In addition, we will not impose penalties on eligible medical institutions for violating the requirements of the HIPAA Regulations in connection with the sincere provision of telemedicine using audio / video remote communication during PHE. June 13th Guidance includes new FAQs to support and clarify telemedicine notifications and assist targeted entities when telemedicine notifications are disabled.
Eligible entities must apply reasonable safeguards to protect protected health information (“PHI”) from unauthorized use / disclosure. This also applies to telemedicine services. For example, if possible, telemedicine services should be provided in a private area. Target entities that use telephone systems that send electronically protected health information (“ePHI”) must apply the protection measures of the HIPAA Security Rules to these technologies. Individual patients can choose the telephone service they want to use. The Target Entity is not responsible for the ePHI once it has been received by the individual receiving device. Eligible entities must also verify the identity of the individual, either verbally or in writing. If necessary, the target entity must use language assistance services to verify the identity of the individual in order to provide access to people with limited English proficiency.
For more information on a wide range of topics on the HIPAA rules and their applicability to telemedicine notifications, visit the guidance on the OCR Privacy website: HIPAA rules allow healthcare providers and healthcare plans to use remote communication techniques for audio. How to allow that-Telehealth only | HHS.gov.
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