The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights today issued guidance on how HIPAA-covered health care providers and health plans can comply with privacy, security and breach notification requirements when using remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth services, including after the COVID-19 public health emergency. The guidance addresses questions that HHS has received about whether, and in what circumstances, audio-only telehealth is permissible under the HIPAA rules. OCR has used its discretion in enforcing the HIPAA rules during the public health emergency.

Related News Articles

Headline
AHA again urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services March 20 to permanently allow telehealth providers to administer services from their homes…
Headline
AHA March 12 shared with the House Ways and Means Committee how telehealth and hospital-at-home (H@H) programs have expanded access to care for patients in…
Headline
Physicians and other practitioners who provided evaluation and management (E/M) services via telehealth during the first nine months of the COVID-19 public…
Headline
The Federal Communications Commission Jan. 10 released a final rule updating the Rural Health Care program, which offers discounted rates for rural broadband…
Headline
The Federal Communications Commission Dec. 12 rejected an application by Starlink for nearly $900 million in Rural Digital Opportunity Funds to bring broadband…
Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Committee Dec. 6 advanced 19 health care bills, including legislation (H.R. 6364) that would prevent Medicare from…