In the midst of the COVID-19 national emergency, the ReMedi team hopes our clients, partners, and families are doing well. 

We’ve compiled a list of resources and updates regarding the COVID-19 national emergency. Please check the World Health Organization first for the most important and up-to-date news about the Coronavirus.

Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth

In an effort to help protect at-risk individuals, the U.S. Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has issued a notice for discretion of telehealth and telemedicine remote communications during the COVID-19 national emergency. The OCR will exercise its enforcement discretion and will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the regulatory requirements under the HIPAA Rules against covered healthcare providers in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth during the nationwide public health emergency.  The notice is effective immediately. 

Using discretion, doctors can use 1-1 communication tools to serve its patients during the emergency that may not have previously been HIPAA compliant. I.e. Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Zoom Video Conferencing, Skype, Google.

View the complete update here: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/emergency-preparedness/notification-enforcement-discretion-telehealth/index.html

Medicare Telemedicine Healthcare Provider Fact Sheet

This resource provides guidance on Medicare coverage and payment of virtual services. Includes: expansion of telehealth, types of virtual services, virtual check-ins, e-visits and HIPAA compliance.

View the fact sheet here: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-telemedicine-health-care-provider-fact-sheet

LOINC Prerelease Terms

Special Use medical codes are developed in response to an urgent or emergent situation. These codes are based on the most up to date information available at the time of their creation. They have undergone the normal QA terminology process. LOINC supports their use in the unique situation that resulted in their rapid creation. However, be aware that downstream users may not be ready to handle prerelease codes until they are published in an official release.

View the LOINC prerelease term updates here: https://loinc.org/prerelease/

Check back for updates and resources as we learn more. To contact our team, email info@remedihs.com.