Traps for the Unwary Telehealth Provider

The provision of health care services via telemedicine has been growing in popularity over the last several years.  With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers were able to rely on a variety of temporary waivers, executive orders, enforcement discretion and regulations that made the transition to digital healthcare technologies simpler than it had been in earlier times.  The use of digital healthcare technologies is now deeply embedded into healthcare services and will continue despite the expiration of the regulatory flexibility afforded by the public health emergency.  It is important to remember, though, that health care is largely regulated on a state-by-state basis, and a business structure or payment arrangement that is legal in one state may not readily translate to another state.  As the present PHE begins to wind down, providers need to be prepared to face the additional legal and regulatory issues combined with the heightened attention of federal and state authorities to services delivered via telehealth.  This article provides an overview of the legislative and regulatory challenges related to the implementation of digital healthcare delivery systems in the United States.

By Carol K. Lucas, Esq. & Jennifer M. Guerrero, Esq.^[1]

U.S. health care providers are heavily regulated by an overlapping patchwork of laws, including some national law and fifty different state laws. Technology has always outrun the