HHS Office for Civil Rights Issues Resource for Providers to Educate Patients about Telehealth and Requirements Under HIPAA

The HHS OCR Newsletter announced that the Office for Civil Rights has released a HIPAA resource document for healthcare providers on educating patients about telehealth and the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI). This resource document provides suggestions for discussing topics with patients, such as telehealth options offered, risks to PHI when using remote communications technologies, privacy and security practices of remote communication technology vendors, and applicability of civil rights laws. 

Overall, the resource document aims to help increase HIPAA compliance while expanding the use of telehealth.