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:
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