HHS issues HIPAA guidance for audio-only telehealth services

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights today issued guidance on how HIPAA-covered health care providers and health plans can comply with privacy, security and breach notification requirements when using remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth services, including after the COVID-19 public health emergency. The guidance addresses questions that HHS has received about whether, and in what circumstances, audio-only telehealth is permissible under the HIPAA rules. OCR has used its discretion in enforcing the HIPAA rules during the public health emergency.