Yesterday, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that effective immediately, it will make it easier for patients to use technology to consult with healthcare team members without these medical centers needing to fear that they could be found guilty of a HIPAA violation for sharing information to patients through electronic means.
Video Chatting With A Doctor
The OCR announced that it will exercise its right to “enforcement discretion” and to waive potential penalties for HIPAA violations against health care provides that serve patients through everyday electronic communications during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This means doctors can now reach patients through numerous electronic communication methods like:
- Facetime
- Skype
- Google Hangouts
- Facebook Messenger Video Chat
These are just a few of the ways that doctors can connect with patients as we try to navigate the COVID-19 outbreak. The key here is that doctors can connect with patients and share health information through means that might normally constitute a potential HIPAA violation so long as the efforts are in “good faith.” So for example, a patient with COVID-19 symptoms can use a video chat application to connect with a provider in an effort to help relay critical healthcare information without putting other patients and hospital staff at risk of virus transmission. These video chats are not limited to COVID-19 related cases, and can be used for conditions like ankle sprains, bunions or other non-foot related healthcare issues.
“We are empowering medical providers to serve patients wherever they are during this national public health emergency,” said Roger Severino, OCR Director. “We are especially concerned about reaching those most at risk, including older persons and persons with disabilities,” Severino added.
More information, including a list of electronic services that should not be used to connect with a physician, can be found here on the Health and Human Services website.