Doximity Dialer users not impacted by the end of the Public Health Emergency

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that the Public Health Emergency (PHE) will end on May 11, 2023. The implications of this announcement are far-reaching and will impact how virtual telehealth visits are conducted going forward. Specifically, HHS will no longer waive penalties for HIPAA violations against healthcare providers that serve telehealth patients via everyday technologies like Skype and FaceTime, and other non-HIPAA compliant communication services. These penalties were overlooked during the PHE; healthcare providers were able to use their discretion, in connection with the “good faith provision of telehealth,” to provide COVID-19 related care and to assess or treat any other medical condition during the pandemic.

The good news is that the 375,000 clinicians and over 150 healthcare systems that use Doximity Dialer to connect with patients for voice or video visits will be able to continue to utilize Dialer beyond the end of the PHE. Built with strict security protocols and with all calls and messaging encrypted, Doximity Dialer has always been HIPAA-compliant. For clinicians who toggle back and forth between Doximity Dialer and everyday communication technologies, healthcare systems are urging clinicians to only use Doximity Dialer as of May 11 to comply with HIPAA regulations.

Despite the PHE ending, here are other telehealth-related provisions that will remain in effect:

• Medicare telehealth flexibilities. Telehealth care Medicare patients have grown accustomed to will continue through 2024 thanks to the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 passed by Congress in 2022.
• Medicaid telehealth flexibilities. Medicaid telehealth services will continue to vary by state; many states offered telehealth coverage prior to the pandemic, with continued delivery of services not dependent on the end of the COVID-19 PHE. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) "encourages states to continue to cover Medicaid and CHIP services when they are delivered via telehealth."  

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