Telehealth & Telemedicine
Maintaining Patient Care Amidst Calamity
The Challenge
Disasters, whether natural or manmade, can occur at any moment. When a disaster strikes, the need for health care can be pressing while physical access to health care facilities is simultaneously challenged. In such moments, telehealth becomes an essential component of ensuring patient access to health care and permitting health facility operations to continue without interruptions.
If the appropriate telehealth infrastructure is not in place prior to a disaster, it can be difficult, or even impossible, for health facilities to stand up telehealth services in the midst of a disaster, given the complex federal and state laws, regulations, and payor billing guidelines at play. Also, rapidly expanding telehealth services during a disaster, and without a proper plan in place, creates risks to both the quality of patient care and organizations.
Ensure that you'll be there for your patients when "face to face" with disaster.
The Solution
Health care entities, providers, payors, and other organizations must make telehealth infrastructure preparedness an essential component of their disaster preparedness plans. To help those companies improve telehealth infrastructure preparedness in the context of natural and manmade disasters, Epstein Becker Green provides guidance through potential telehealth challenges. For example, our attorneys:
- advise on changing federal reimbursement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that may be triggered by a state or federal emergency declaration;
- provide awareness and guidance of the various temporary waivers, reciprocity, or changing of state licensure requirements that may be issued for telehealth providers during an emergency declaration;
- counsel on Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act modifications and changes to authorizations that may be made in order to prioritize patient access to telehealth care during a state of emergency;
- prepare 50-state surveys on telehealth licensure for each type of provider, including the scope of practice, allowable telehealth mechanics (audio only vs. audio-visual, etc.);
- advise on navigating billing intra-company when a natural disaster prevents a patient from seeking care at their typical health care facility;
- provide awareness of the federal and state tele-prescribing rules and regulations for telehealth providers and pharmacies; and
- structure a corporate compliance infrastructure to be in place before a natural disaster strikes, including emergency policies and protocols.
The rapid expansion of telehealth and telemedicine is a complex legal issue to grapple with during non-emergency times but can become increasingly urgent and necessary in the aftermath of a disaster.