HIPAA Guidelines on Telemedicine
The CDC reported that in February 2020, the number of telemedicine visits had increased by roughly 154 percent from the previous year.
Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the globe has increased the demand for socially distant doctor appointments. Due to this rise, covered businesses must pay close attention to the HIPAA Telemedicine Guidelines.
Protecting your clients is of the utmost importance as healthcare moves online. Check out this comprehensive guide to learn more about HIPAA guidelines for telemedicine requirements.
HIPAA Telemedicine Guidelines
You could have concerns about unique HIPAA telemedicine regulations if you offer remote medical services.
The HIPAA regulations can be ambiguous, therefore a covered entity needs to update their knowledge of them.
Describe telemedicine.
A technique called telemedicine enables medical professionals (such as doctors and nurses) to conduct health assessments and check-ups and prescribe medication from a socially distant site.
Telehealth communications can be delivered via audio calls, texting apps, or video conferencing software.
Covered Entities
The telemedicine HIPAA security regulations apply to all covered entities in the medical industry, or those referred to as “health care providers,” according to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
The following is a list of some of the healthcare providers that are featured but is not exhaustive:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Physical therapists
- Chiropractors
- Pharmacists
- Hospitals
- Clinics
This is not a complete list. Make sure you are recognized as a healthcare practitioner by checking this.
The Notification of Enforcement Discretion Act does not apply to insurance agencies that pay for telehealth services.
Where Can I Hold Sessions for Telehealth?
Anywhere that is regarded as a private environment, such as your office, is acceptable for doing Telehealth services.
Never give medical advise in front of other people or in a place where others could hear or see patient information.
Anywhere you offer remote telehealth services, suitable technical and physical security measures must be implemented to lower risk.
Is Texting HIPAA Compliant?
As a general rule, Telehealth conferencing shouldn’t use ordinary SMS messaging.
As was already mentioned, many people find texting to be a lot more convenient form of communication.
The desired strategy is rapid information exchange between patients and other healthcare professionals.
However, being overly lenient with ePHI sharing could result in non-compliance and a breach of ePHI.
There are a few exceptions to the norm, of course. There are many secure messaging apps available that provide an SMS texting system that is protected and encrypted.
