Ray Barrett interviewed Kelly Koch from Compliancy Group. In this informative conversation, Ray and Kelly delve into the steps required by healthcare providers to remain compliant with HIPAA law when working with third-party vendors. Kelly was able to help dispel much of the confusion surrounding this important topic and layout some clear “does and don’ts” when it comes to HIPAA and working with other organizations.
Legal Updates
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) allows physicians from 43 different Medical and Osteopathic boards to practice medicine across state lines. Interstate compacts exist so that governing agencies from different states or jurisdictions are able to define an agreement which allows for members of their respective regions to operate under a mutual set of regulations.
The Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC) allows nurses to have one license to practice in multiple states. An interstate compact allows multiple states to join together and uniformly address common issues and establish guidelines that cross state boundaries to maintain regularity between governing agencies.
The Florida legislature has passed Chapter 2019-137, Laws of Florida. Signed into law by the governor and effective July 1, 2019, Chapter 2019-137 clarifies the definitions for healthcare providers who use or plan on using telehealth services in Florida, as well as the steps needed to provide ethical, legal, and competent services within the state. The full text of Chapter 2019-137 can be downloaded on the home page.
It is now mandatory for practitioners who are licensed out-of-state and do NOT hold an additional Florida license to be registered with the state in order to perform telehealth services for patients located in Florida. (Licensed Florida providers are already allowed to practice telehealth with patients, and they would be able to see them face-to-face.)
JAMIA recently published their study on the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) initiative to bring telehealth to Veterans in serious need of healthcare and with barriers to accessing care. Eighty-six VA facilities provided tablets with telehealth capabilities to 6,745 patients.
In January 2019, the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth published an article by Nathaniel Lacktman, Esq. and Dr. Neil Nerwich entitled, “Teleconsultation Services for the Mobile Workforce- Considerations and Guidelines for the Provision of Global Services in Compliance with Regulations and Best Practice Clinical Standards of Care.” The International Society for Telemedicine & EHealth (ISfTeH), founded in 2011, is a “nongovernmental and not-for-profit society that services primarily as the umbrella association for national Telemedicine and eHealth organizations,” advising on international standards and best practices for telemedicine.
As of December 2018, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has adopted an official ruling that text messages will be considered an informational service (such as emails) versus a telecommunication service (such as telephone calls). Click here for the ruling. This distinction is highly relevant, as communications classified as “telecommunication services” must be transmitted by cellular carriers and are not permitted to be blocked or altered, whereas informational services can be.
As text messaging has grown in popularity over the last decade, texts have carried an ambiguous status; this ambiguity has allowed cellular carriers to make independent decisions regarding transmission, with many carriers defaulting to handle texts as informational services. For the December ruling, the FCC took into consideration that cellular providers have already been filtering text messages (in an effort to minimize spam) and that allowing all texts to go through could burden consumers.
In Opinion 19-02, the Office of Inspector General declares its support for allowing drug manufacturers to temporarily loan smartphones to low-income patients who are prescribed antipsychotic digital medications. A sensor is embedded in the medication and, once taken, transmits a signal to a patch worn by the patient. The patch records the ingestion of medication, rest, and activity levels and uploads the data to a smartphone app via Bluetooth. The patient has the ability to add more detailed information (moods, sleep quality) to the app, and then the app syncs with secure, cloud-based data banks.
The course was so informative and I was glued to my screen for the entire duration. I received so much knowledge concerning ethics in telehealth and I am greatly encouraged to read about all the standards and policies that pertain to my practice. Thank you!.