From the Desk of Matt Fisher – ICYMI

By Matt Fisher, Esq
Twitter: @matt_r_fisher
Host of Healthcare de Jure – #HCdeJure

Tune in weekdays at 2pm, 10pm or 6am ET as Matt serves up the hottest healthcare issues of the day, all from a legal point of view.  From public policies and Federal initiatives to privacy and security, join host Matt R. Fisher as he and his guests discuss a smorgasbord of topics, giving hospitals, physicians, vendors and patients a seat at the table. Matt’s virtual conversations can be listened to on demand or heard on air. So don’t miss a minute of what’s on the menu.

ICYMI, read the latest of Matt’s blogs. And don’t forget to join the conversation with Matt on #HCdeJure.

Telehealth Future: Unknown Outcome
Telehealth (and the subset telemedicine) have been touted as the technology of the future or the moment for a number of years now. Despite the continued recent promise, telehealth is not a new technology. It has been around in one form or another for a number of years since it arguably refers to any remote delivery of care. In fact, legislation requiring coverage goes back a number of years too, including California first legislating coverage in 1996. Despite the long history and continual amount of hype, adoption at best has lagged far behind. That is changing drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading on HealthIT Answers.

COVID-19 Community Testing: Getting HIPAA Protection
The COVID-19 pandemic remains in a state of emergency across the country and access to testing also remains a top priority. Testing continues to be viewed as a significant means of determining the scope of the pandemic as well as establishing the potential for tracking and tracing that could allow a return to some level of normalcy. Where to provide the testing is an ongoing challenge though. Should it be in physician offices, hospitals, or other settings? The answer may be all of the above. That being said, an increasingly popular choice is community-based testing sites (CBTS). A lot goes into the operation of a CBTS, but an argument against implementing had been fears of HIPAA violations. Continue reading on HealthIT Answers.

More HIPAA and Telehealth
As the telehealth flood gates are being opened, privacy and security considerations still remain. HIPAA will continue to lurk in the background even with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) pre-announcing the exercise of discretion to not enforce telehealth related violations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The discretion to permit the use of non-compliant services (such as FaceTime, Skype, or Facebook Messenger) is leaving many questions. Continue reading on HealthIT Answers.

Regulatory Developments: COVID19 Disruption
The declaration of COVID19 as a pandemic and the United States declaring a national emergency to help contain and enhance treatment access have resulted in a number of changes to ease potential regulatory burdens or barriers in healthcare. Like so much happening as a result of the pandemic, the changes have the potential to fundamentally change the healthcare industry not just during the time of the emergency declaration. Continue reading on HealthIT Answers.

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