Telehealth

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 care.
Continue Reading House Legislation Would Modestly Expand Use of Technology in Treating Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

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

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 as telehealth technology continues to advance and emerging telehealth services and remote patient monitoring becomes more important to the management of patient care.
Continue Reading The AMA’s Telehealth Services Workgroup Convened for its Foundational Meeting to Discuss the Development of New Telemedicine Billing Codes

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.

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

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).

Earlier this year, Congressman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) re-introduced the “Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act of 2015,” or the “VETS Act of 2015,” to make it easier to for veterans to receive medical care through telemedicine. 
Continue Reading E-Health Legislative Summary: The Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act of 2015

* Alex Langton is a summer associate and student at Georgetown University Law Center.

In May, three states joined the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, in addition to the six states that had already joined.  A sufficient number of states have now joined to trigger implementation of the Compact through the creation of the “Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission.”  This may prove to be a significant development in facilitating physician licensure across state lines for purposes of delivering services through telehealth technology.Continue Reading Nine States Join Interstate Medical Licensure Compact

Brian Kempfer is a summer associate and student at the University of Michigan Law School.

In a previous post, we noted a case pending before the Iowa Supreme Court challenging an Iowa regulation that prohibited doctors from using telemedicine to prescribe “abortion-inducing drugs,” sometimes called abortifacients.  Last Friday, in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Iowa Board of Medicine, the Court held that the rule violated the U.S. and Iowa Constitutions.  This decision has significant implications for similar restrictions on telemedicine across the country.Continue Reading Iowa Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Use of Telemedicine to Prescribe Abortion-Inducing Drugs

* Jack Lund is a summer associate and student at the University of Virginia School of Law       

The “21st Century Cures Act” (Cures) cleared its first major hurdle last month when the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously in favor of the legislation.  Among other things, Cures helps to modernize Medicare by including mandatory interoperability for electronic health records (EHR), study of and support for telehealth, and the creation of a pharmaceutical and technology ombudsman.Continue Reading 21st Century Cures Act with EHR and Telehealth Provisions Passes Through Committee with Flying Colors