Pandemic Expands Telehealth Despite Privacy Law: HIPAA Explained

Telehealth doctor appointments have become a new feature of the pandemic as the administration eased health privacy enforcement to expand the practice to protect providers and patients from Covid-19.

Virtual visits can keep patients from showing up to hospitals unannounced and potentially exposing themselves and others to the coronavirus. They can also ensure ongoing care for people with chronic conditions that may make them vulnerable to the virus.

To facilitate the expansion the government temporarily waived parts of the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The law was enacted before electronic health records were regularly in use, and ...