On November 2, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized new policies related to remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) and remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) services reimbursed under the Medicare...more
11/9/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data Collection ,
Final Rules ,
FQHC ,
Health Technology ,
Medical Billing Codes ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Shared Savings Program ,
Physical Therapists ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Reimbursements ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Telemedicine
On May 10, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) released a new regulation – “Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications” – temporarily extending the “full set” of...more
On March 1, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officially published proposed rules for prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine after the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency expires. The DEA gave the public a 30...more
On February 24, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Agency announced proposed rules for prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine after the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency expires. The proposed rules are open for public...more
2/27/2023
/ Controlled Substances ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Opioid ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Ryan Haight Act ,
SAMHSA ,
Telemedicine
With 2022 closed, there is growing anticipation (trepidation?) about what is in store for digital health in the new year. Will venture funding trickle or will 2023 see more liquidity in the markets? What legal and policy...more
The American Hospital Association (AHA), on behalf of its nearly 5,000 member hospitals and health systems, sent a letter urging the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to take immediate action to allow telemedicine prescribing of...more
Continued access to telehealth services, particularly as it relates to medication assisted treatment (MAT) for substance use disorder (SUD), enjoys strong support among patients and clinicians, yet laws continue to trail...more
As online digital health services continue to enjoy broader use and appeal, federal regulators are concerned some telemedicine online patient-user interfaces fail to accommodate persons with disabilities and limited English...more
9/13/2022
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Health ,
Disabilities ,
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) ,
Mental Health ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telemedicine ,
Title VI
On July 20, 2022, HHS-OIG published a new Special Fraud Alert on arrangements with telemedicine companies, setting forth seven characteristics OIG believes could suggest a given arrangement poses a heighted risk of fraud and...more
In what feels like an instant, telemedicine has gone from an emerging niche to a must-have. The pandemic created an opportunity for telemedicine providers to grow — rapidly — giving even more reason for venture capital and...more
Florida has taken another step towards expanding telemedicine. On April 6, 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law legislation to remove Florida’s prior restrictions on telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances....more
As if telemedicine companies didn’t already have enough regulatory complexities, a number of states have begun to implement “telemedicine business registrations” prior to launching services in new states. Among them is...more
On December 21, 2021, New Jersey amended its telemedicine laws via SB 2559. The new changes expressly allow the use of asynchronous store-and-forward telemedicine as a standalone modality, remove prior prohibitions on...more
Three times as many consumers say they plan on continuing to use telehealth services, and more than half of providers view it more favorably now than before.
As telemedicine companies stepped up during the COVID-19...more
Continuing the trend of expanded Medicare reimbursement for remote monitoring, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule final rule on its new Remote Therapeutic Monitoring...more
The regulatory scrutiny on telemedicine and digital health companies continues to tighten, whether it is privacy warning shots, new direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising limits, a wave of reimbursement audits, or multistate...more
10/11/2021
/ Apple ,
Audits ,
Data Collection ,
Data Retention ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Health ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Mobile Apps ,
Privacy Policy ,
Risk Assessment ,
Telemedicine
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. has experienced a troubling rise in alcohol consumption with parallels to an increased number of individuals struggling with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Enter a new wave of...more
Telemedicine companies seeking to advertise on Facebook’s social media platforms will first need special approval and certification before running advertisements. In a recently-announced policy, Facebook introduced additional...more
The Florida Board of Medicine will hold a rule development workshop to discuss updating the provisions of its rule for prescribing obesity drugs. Under the current rule (Florida Administrative Code 64B8-9.012), a physician...more
...The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed permanent Medicare coverage of audio-only mental health telehealth services. Currently, Medicare covers audio-only telehealth under temporary waivers that...more
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies have sought to allow health care companies more flexibility to use popular technology and applications to better engage with their patients. One example is the Department of...more
The Joint Commission recently announced it has changed its accreditation rules to enable more hospitals and telemedicine companies to use the streamlined “credentialing by proxy” process. Under the change, the distant site...more
Telemedicine and remote patient monitoring companies often want to maintain open communication channels with patients, whether it be scheduling, medication reminders, engagement pings, or even new product and service updates....more
3/8/2021
/ Class Action ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fines ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Notifications ,
Statutory Damages ,
TCPA ,
Telemedicine ,
Texting ,
Written Consent
Companies who feel the Public Health Emergency (PHE) waivers and exceptions have rendered telemedicine “immune” from compliance oversight might be surprised to learn what federal regulators have in the works. The Office of...more
3/1/2021
/ Audits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fraud ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Home Health Care ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Mental Health ,
OIG ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Waivers
The Public Health Emergency introduced a myriad of changes to federal and state telemedicine and digital health laws and rules. There were expansions to telehealth coverage and reimbursement, suspension of enforcement on...more