[20200605]LSB10490_HIPAA、远程健康和2019冠状病毒疾病.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i HIPAA, Telehealth, and COVID-19 June 5, 2020 In recent years, health care providers have increasingly turned to technology to provide remote health care services to patients (i.e., “telehealth”). This use of telehealth has only become more important in the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as it has allowed providers and patients to minimize their contact with one another. However, the use of technology to transmit information carries privacy risks. Federal law thus limits the extent to which health care providers may use technology to transmit medical information. In particular, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires covered entitiesnamely, health care providers, health plans, and health clearinghousesto abide by data privacy, data security, and data breach notification requirements in their treatment of certain medical information. While HIPAAs restrictions mitigate privacy and security concerns, they also limit health care providers ability to offer telehealth services. Given the increased need for telehealth options due to CO