Legal considerations

Here we’ve summarized a few of the legal considerations when providing telehealth visits and resources for additional information.

On this page:

• Protecting patient health information
• Protecting yourself from liability and malpractice

Protecting patient health information

Cybersecurity

Electronic health records are often targeted by malware and hackers. These resources can help you ensure that you are taking the necessary steps to protect patients’ health information:

• Cybersecurity 101: What You Need to Know (PDF) — from the American Medical Association
• Physician cybersecurity — from the American Medical Association
• Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients (PDF) — from the Health Sector Coordinating Council
• Cyber Security Guidance Material — from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HIPAA compliance

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) ensures that health care providers protect patients’ personal health information. All of the telehealth services you provide need to be in compliance with HIPAA rules.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights released guidance to help health care providers and health plans bound by HIPAA and HIPAA rules understand how they can use remote communication technologies for audio-only telehealth. Information in the guidance includes the ability to comply with HIPAA when using remote communications to provide audio-only telehealth services, the need to meet HIPAA rules for electronic protected health information transmitted over electronic media, and when a business associate agreement with a telecommunication service provider is not necessary.