HHS Remote Communication Technologies for Audio-Only Telehealth Guidance

In response to COVID, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided information to help with the remote care of patients, using telecommunications technology (i.e. "telehealth"). Last week, HHS provided new details and answered the four following questions. Rather than provide a long cut and paste to our blog, we recommend you view the source material, linked to the graphic below.

• Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit covered health care providers and health plans to use remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth services?

• Do covered health care providers and health plans have to meet the requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule in order to use remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth services?

• Do the HIPAA Rules permit a covered health care provider or a health plan to conduct audio-only telehealth using remote communication technologies without a business associate agreement in place with the vendor?

• Do the HIPAA Rules allow covered health care providers to use remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth if an individual’s health plan does not provide coverage or payment for those services?

Stay (HIPAA) safe, Alan -