Want More Time to Get HIPAA-Compliant? You’ve Got Until August 9th
By Barbara Griswold, LMFT (April 24, 2023)
During the COVID Public Health Emergency (PHE), the government allowed therapists to use telehealth platforms like Facetime and the free versions of Skype and Zoom that are not compatible with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Enforcement of penalties on providers for HIPAA-noncompliance was scheduled to resume on May 11th, 2023, at the end of the federal PHE.
However, on April 11th, the federal government announced they would allow a 90-day transition period to give providers time to come into compliance with the HIPAA telehealth platform rule (read the press release here). This gives you until August 9, 2023 at 11:59 pm to get in compliance.
Until then, the government will “continue to exercise its enforcement discretion and will not impose penalties on covered health care providers for noncompliance with the HIPAA Rules that occurs in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth.” But by August 9th, we all need to be using telehealth platforms that claim HIPAA-compliance and offer a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
Note that this extension only applies to telehealth platforms. HIPAA compliance in other areas will still be subject to enforcement penalties after May 11th.