The US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently issued guidance on how covered entities can use audio-only telehealth services in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
Partner Reece Hirsch noted that the guidance is consistent with previous statements from OCR but emphasizes points that may be helpful to providers who only adopted or expanded their use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It also suggests we are going to receive further guidance on the use of video telehealth after the public health emergency has ended,” said Reece.
He notes that possibly the most important takeaway from the guidance is that providers can use standard landline communications with only common-sense precautions instead of the compliance efforts required with other technology for the electronic transmissions of protected health information.