This guidance is a direct response to a December 2021 Executive Order that tasked HHS with developing HIPAA guidance for telehealth services, with the stated goals of improving patient experience and convenience as the COVID-19 public health emergency subsides.
These regulations established conditions under which providers, developers of certified health IT, and health information networks and exchanges cannot knowingly engage in practices likely to interfere with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information.
This presents yet another area for healthcare organizations to continue to monitor, as they seek to strike a balance between minimizing liability while at the same time presenting the major resources that they expend to protect their investments and good will.
These fines reflect CMS’s willingness to take material enforcement action where the Rule’s regulatory requirements are largely ignored and CMS’s subsequent efforts to obtain compliance are rejected.
This presents yet another area for healthcare organizations to continue to monitor, as they seek to strike a balance between minimizing liability while at the same time presenting the major resources that they expend to protect their investments and good will.