Expiration of HIPAA Notifications of Enforcement Discretion, Using Telehealth during Stress Awareness Month, Conducting a Telehealth Physical Exam, Translating Telehealth Research into Practice, Research Spotlight, and More OAT Announcements!

HRSA sent this bulletin at 04/18/2023 10:07 AM EDT

Office for the Advancement of Telehealth

Announcements

April 18, 2023

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Expiration of COVID-19 Public Health Emergency HIPAA Notifications of Enforcement Discretion

On April 11, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights announced the Notifications of Enforcement Discretion issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act during the COVID-19 public health emergency will expire on May 11, 2023. OCR is providing a 90-day transition period for covered health care providers to comply with HIPAA Rules in the provision of telehealth.

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Using Telehealth during Stress Awareness Month

With April as Stress Awareness Month, telehealth can play a role in providing support through behavioral health services: one-on-one therapy, group therapy sessions, text-based care, screenings, and beyond. Learn more in the Behavioral Health Best Practice Guide, what patients can expect from a session, or how a HRSA Health Center used a Virtual Behavioral Health Measurement Tool.

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Conducting a Physical Exam Using Telehealth

A physical examination is traditionally done in person, but providers can use telehealth to conduct a physical exam. It is important to develop processes for virtual physical exams so that your patients receive quality care. Explore guidance and helpful resources for conducting physical exams via telehealth, including tips for before, during and after the visit (also available in Spanish).

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Tip Sheet: Translating Telehealth Research into Practice

The volume of telehealth research has grown exponentially in the past several years; however, the more articles made available, the more challenging it may be to determine what information is useful for your practice. This tip sheet provides clear steps to incorporate research findings into care delivery.

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Research Spotlight: Trends in Telehealth Visits During Pregnancy, 2018 to 2021

A recent publication on the Telehealth.HHS.gov Research page examines trends across several years of prenatal telehealth visits. This study looked at patient characteristics across visits, telehealth usage and included an analysis of telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the results showed that patients receiving Medicaid and delivering during the pandemic had 165% higher prenatal telehealth visit rates.

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