The Regulatory Environment of Telemedicine after COVID-19

J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2022 Jul 13:S2213-2198(22)00696-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.07.001. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has created many barriers to providing healthcare, yet it also has created new opportunities. While telemedicine was a nascent means of healthcare delivery prior to COVID-19, it now is one of the principle means for doing so today, and it is likely to remain so. Whether this will happen may depend in part on continued relaxation of regulations that hampered it prior to the pandemic. Whereas enforcement of compliance with HIPAA will most likely resume, platform operators and providers have had an opportunity to prepare for this. State licensure requirements may also resume; however, the regulations were in the process of become more liberal prior to COVID-19 so that process might continue. There is no reason to anticipate that payment for telemedicine services including check-ins, remote physiologic and therapeutic monitoring and relaxation of location and service requirements will end. For these reasons, telemedicine therefore is likely to continue as an important part of medical practice.

PMID:35842133 | DOI:10.1016/j.jaip.2022.07.001