On April 21, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that, as a response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, it will exercise enforcement discretion to “permit compliance flexibilities” regarding the implementation of the interoperability final rules issued on March 9th, 2020. This joint announcement was made by the Office of the … Continue Reading
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has transitioned the telehealth debate from a matter of access, convenience, and cost-saving to a matter of absolute necessity on a large scale. A variety of barriers have traditionally stood in the way of broader adoption of telehealth including a lack of reimbursement by both state and private insurance, restrictions … Continue Reading
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have ramped up efforts to subsidize the provision of the telecommunications and broadband services necessary to deliver telehealth solutions. This includes steps to make it easier for eligible health care providers to secure funding under the FCC’s existing Rural Healthcare (RHC) program, … Continue Reading
On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a Notification of Enforcement Discretion (the “Notification”) regarding the disclosure of protected health information (“PHI”) to public health authorities and use of PHI to perform analytics for such authorities. Designed to “facilitate uses and disclosures for public health and health oversight … Continue Reading
Last week, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Protecting Personal Health Data Act (S. 1842), which would provide new privacy and security rules from the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) for technologies that collect personal health data, such as wearable fitness trackers, social-media sites focused on health data or … Continue Reading
China continues to advance policy supporting e-healthcare services and resources. On September 14, 2018, National Health Commission (“NHC”) and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (“NATCM”) publicly released three new rules on internet based medical services and telemedicine. These rules cover the areas of e-diagnosis (“e-Diagnostic Rules”), internet-based hospitals (“e-Hospital Rules”) and telemedicine services … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, President Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA), which incorporates provisions from the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2017 and improves access to telehealth services in Medicare Advantage. Pub. L. No. 115-123. Among other provisions impacting Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs), … Continue Reading
Today, as expected, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) adopted an order repealing the agency’s 2015 net neutrality rules and changing the legal framework that governs Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”). The vote split along party lines, with the agency’s three Republicans voting in favor and its two Democrats dissenting. Once today’s order goes into effect, … Continue Reading
On May 11, 2017, the European Cloud in Health Advisory Council (ECHAC) – a group of healthcare organizations, technology companies and patient representatives – launched its second whitepaper focused on use of data to improve health outcomes and delivery of care. ECHAC launched the whitepaper at an eHealth Week 2017 session attended by ECHAC participants and … Continue Reading
Last week, Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced new legislation to test expanded Medicare coverage of telehealth services. The Telehealth Innovation and Improvement Act requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allow selected, eligible hospitals to offer telehealth services in cooperation with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation … Continue Reading
The full Senate could vote as early as this week on the nomination of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In January, two Senate Committees held hearings on Rep. Price’s nomination. These hearings focused largely on Rep. Price’s stance on repeal of the Affordable … Continue Reading
We have followed (here and here) the adoption of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (“IMLC”) by various states and the subsequent formation of a commission under the IMLC. We believe that the IMLC presents one promising avenue for the proliferation of telemedicine. In this post, we explore another initiative designed to encourage the development of … Continue Reading
On November 29, 2016, the Senate unanimously passed the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act (the ECHO Act). This legislation seeks to expand the use of technology to connect underserved communities with critical health care services.… Continue Reading
In July of 2015 we noted that nine states had enacted laws to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. We described this cooperative program intended to allow physicians to obtain expedited licenses to practice in multiple states. This would facilitate the delivery of telemedicine across state lines; physicians are generally prohibited from practicing, even remotely, … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently proposed a rule to enhance ONC oversight and accreditation of health IT. Under the rule, the ONC’s primary goal would be to work with health IT developers to remedy any non-conformities with certified health … Continue Reading
On February 2, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill, S. 2484 (CONNECT for Health Act), to expand the scope of Medicare reimbursements for telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) services. (An identical bill, H.R. 4442 was introduced in the House on February 3.) If enacted, the bill would waive, for certain providers, existing … Continue Reading
This week, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt set forth guiding principles that CMS will consider in crafting regulations implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). In January, Administrator Slavitt announced the end of the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Meaningful Use Program, which would instead be replaced by … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule implementing a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires a Medicaid enrollee seeking coverage for home health services to first meet face-to-face with a practitioner. The final rule confirms that the face-to-face encounter requirement “may occur through telehealth, as implemented … Continue Reading
Last month, the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee approved the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015. The Act is designed to improve access to treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and it includes several provisions to modestly expand and improve the use of technology in delivering … Continue Reading
While Americans continue the trend towards replacing the traditional phone call with email and texts, health care providers have yet to catch on when interacting with their patients. A recent survey by Nielsen Strategic Health Perspectives found that less than a third of Americans have access to digital communications with their physicians: The survey found … Continue Reading
On October 8, 2015, the American Medical Association’s new Telehealth Services Workgroup met for the first time, as it began to consider ways to expand current telehealth service Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Codes. The AMA has recognized that the CPT code set must be updated to accurately reflect the telehealth services provided to patients, particularly … Continue Reading
A new post on Covington’s Inside Medical Devices blog discusses a new portal recently launched by HHS seeking questions from mobile health application developers. The platform allows for individuals to both submit and review questions on the HIPAA implications of these mobile health applications. To read the post, click here.… Continue Reading
Last week, our colleague Libbie Cantor published a post on our InsidePrivacy blog regarding the Online Trust Alliance’s (OTA) release of a draft framework of best practices for Internet of Things device manufacturers and developers. This draft framework applies to, among other things, eHealth technology, such as wearable fitness and health technologies. The OTA is seeking comments on … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, our colleague Bianca Nunes published a post on cybersecurity risks with connected devices on Covington’s InsideMedicalDevices blog. This post describes the FDA’s increasing focus on promoting cybersecurity, as well as a draft practice guide for securing health records maintained on mobile devices published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).… Continue Reading
