Telehealth Regulatory and Legal Considerations: Frequently Asked Questions

Authors

  • Jana Cason Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy, Spalding University
  • Janice A. Brannon American Speech-Language Hearing Association

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2011.6077

Abstract

As telehealth gains momentum as a service delivery model in the United States within the rehabilitation professions, regulatory and legal questions arise. This article examines the following questions:
1. Is there a need to secure licenses in two states (i.e., where the practitioner resides, and where the client is located), before engaging in telehealth?
2. Do state laws differ concerning if and how telehealth can occur?
3. Do any states expressly disallow telehealth?
4. Can services delivered through telehealth be billed the same way as services provided in-person?
5. If practitioners fulfill the requirements to maintain licensure (e.g., continuing education obligations) in their state of residence, do they also need to fulfill the requirements to maintain licensure for the state in which the client resides?
6. Will professional malpractice insurance cover services delivered through telehealth?
7. Does a sole practitioner need to abide by HIPAA regulations?
Responses to these questions are offered to raise awareness of the regulatory and legal implications associated with the use of a telehealth service delivery model

  

References

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2011). State licensure telepractice provisions. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/Practice/telepractice/telepractice-licensure/

Delaware General Assembly Title 24 Professional Regulation. (2006). 3700 Board of Examiners of Speech/Language Pathologists, Audiologists & Hearing Aid Dispensers, Section 9.2.1.4. Retrieved fromhttp://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title24/3700.shtml

Thompson, G. (2011). Thompson STEP Act passes U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved from http://thompson.house.gov/2011/05/thompson-step-act-passes-us-house-of-representatives.shtml

Watzlaf, V., Fahima, R., Moeini, S., & Firouzan, P. (2010). VoIP for telerehabilitation: A risk analysis for privacy, security, and HIPPA compliance. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 2(2), 3-14. doi:10.5195/IJT.2010.6056

Watzlaf, V., Fahima, R., Moeini, S., Matusow, L. & Firouzan, P. (2011). VoIP for telerehabilitation: A risk analysis for privacy, security, and HIPPA compliance – Part II. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 3(1), 3-10. doi: 10.5195/IJT.2011.6070

Telehealth Resources

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2010). Telerehabilitation Position Paper. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64, S92-S102. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2010.64S92. Retrieved from http://www.aota.org/Practitioners/Official/Position/36203.aspx?FT=.pdf

American Physical Therapy Association. (2009). Telehealth - definitions and guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/About_Us/Policies/BOD/Practice/TelehealthDefinitionsGuidelines.pdf

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2011). Telepractice for SLPs and audiologists. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/practice/telepractice/

American Telemedicine Association – www.atmeda.org * Telerehabilitation Special Interest Group (SIG) http://www.americantelemed.org/ i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3328 * American Telemedicine Association’s, A Blueprint for Telerehabilitation Guidelines – http://www.americantelemed.org/files/public/standards/ATA%20Telerehab%20Guidelines%20v1%20(2).pdf

Center for Telehealth and e-Health Law (CTel) – http://www.ctel.org/

Regional Telehealth Resource Centers - http://telehealthresourcecenters.org/

Downloads

Published

2011-12-20

How to Cite

Cason, J., & Brannon, J. A. (2011). Telehealth Regulatory and Legal Considerations: Frequently Asked Questions. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 3(2), 15–18. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2011.6077

Issue

Vol. 3, No. 2, Fall 2011

Section

Viewpoints

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  4. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  6. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  7. The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  8. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link. 

Most read articles by the same author(s)

> >>