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Transforming the way you do business during a crisis.
As you may already know, in light of the COVID-19 emergency, the government has relaxed requirements for telemedicine, making it easier for doctors and patients to connect digitally for many of the encounters that would normally entail an office visit.
There is more information at the link below, including CPT codes and how Medicare is reimbursing for these visits, however a key component is that telemedicine visits don’t need to abide by the same HIPAA compliance requirements they normally do – and specifically, consumer-grade video chat platforms like FaceTime (Apple/iOS), Skype/Teams, Google Duo, etc. are all acceptable forms of communications.
In the interest of using what many patients will already be accustomed to, and already have installed on their smart phone or tablet in many cases, we’re recommending the use of FaceTime for patients that have Apple devices, and Google Duo for those with Android.
FaceTime is installed by default on all Apple devices, but Duo may need to be installed if the patient has never used it, which someone on your staff should be able to walk them through in just a few minutes.
We’re also recommending that you register new Apple ID’s and Google accounts for doctors that will be providing this service so that patients won’t have the doctors’ personal contact information. You may want to invest in an iPad for each of the doctors so they can associate them with this new Apple ID and Google account, but both would work from any iPhone or iPad.
Please review the new changes and requirements for providing telemedicine services to your patients at the link below.
If you’d like any further advice on this or any other IT-related matter you’re facing during the Coronavirus crisis, please just let me know – that’s what we’re here for.
https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-telemedicine-health-care-provider-fact-sheet
