Telehealth Doctors Told to Prepare for End of HIPAA Flexibility

Telehealth providers should prepare to comply with the HIPAA health privacy law once the federal public health emergency ends, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a guidance Monday.

Health-care providers, health plans, and health-care clearinghouses that transmit electronic health records were previously exempt from complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 “in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth using non-public facing audio or video remote communication technologies” during the public health emergency, the HHS said.

Telehealth usage exploded at the beginning of the pandemic, when many practices closed their doors and ...