Wiki Telehealth Device

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torihamill

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I was on a webinar with Medicaid Alaska and they stated that Zoom was not allowed to be used as a device for telehealth because it is not secure. I cannot find anywhere if CMS is allowing Zoom as a communication device. Can anyone confirm or negate this?

Thank you.
 
My understanding is that some of the Zoom platforms are HIPAA compliant some are not. However, the HHS Office of Civil Rights, which is the body that enforces HIPAA security, has issued the following statement saying that they are relaxing the HIPAA restrictions and penalties on telehealth during this period. It specifically states that Zoom may be used:

A covered health care provider that wants to use audio or video communication technology to provide telehealth to patients during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency can use any non-public facing remote communication product that is available to communicate with patients. OCR is exercising its enforcement discretion to not impose penalties for noncompliance with the HIPAA Rules in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth using such non-public facing audio or video communication products during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. This exercise of discretion applies to telehealth provided for any reason, regardless of whether the telehealth service is related to the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions related to COVID-19....

Under this Notice, covered health care providers may use popular applications that allow for video chats, including Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts video, Zoom, or Skype, to provide telehealth without risk that OCR might seek to impose a penalty for noncompliance with the HIPAA Rules related to the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. Providers are encouraged to notify patients that these third-party applications potentially introduce privacy risks, and providers should enable all available encryption and privacy modes when using such applications.

You can find the full text here:
 
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