Resources & Reports

A recent article in Health Affairs, titled Interstate Telehealth Use by Medicare Beneficiaries, examined the data behind interstate telehealth use before and after COVID-19 licensure waivers. The authors analyzed trends in data from 2017-2020, finding that most out-of-state telehealth use was with established patients, and more patients were from rural areas. The article states that based on the research results, policymakers should consider how reinstating limitations on cross-state telehealth use may disproportionately impact access for certain patient populations.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR)recently released guidance on the use of remote communication technologies for audio-only telehealth to assist health care providers and health plans, or covered entities, bound by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules (HIPAA Rules). The goal of the guidance as stated by OCR is to support continued access to audio-only telehealth post-public health emergency (PHE) and make clear that audio-only telehealth is permissible under HIPAA Rules.