This is probably old news to many readers but I just learned about it now.
BACKGROUND: Just now got off the phone on a call with the office manager at my son’s neurologist office that’s 40 miles from my house. Had been asking them to allow a telehealth with participants at multiple locations — with my wife at her office in NYC, with me at home in Edison NJ and my disabled son and a caregiver at his group home in Glassboro NJ.
Their deficient Hipaa compliant software called Docsee does not allow more than two locations to participate in a telehealth call, and I was asking them to allow either a Zoom or a Facetime or else employ a Hipaa compliant software called Vsee that allows conferencing between participants in multiple locations, with the purpose of allowing my wife to be in her office and me to be at home and my son to be in his group home 82 miles away. Attendance at the doctor’s office would cost my wife taking a day off work, a 1.5 hours round trip for me and my wife, and a 2 hour round trip for the caregiver and my son. It’s not easy to find a good neurologist in this neck of the woods.
FOREGROUND: Office manager says it is pointless to change their telehealth conference provider because the insurance companies are demanding a termination of telehealth and a return to in person visits, some at the end of August, and some at the end of the year, This is very difficult for people needing treatment by specialists located far from their current location. Save gasoline and days off work. Support telehealth !
CONCLUSION: If you support continuation of telehealth, please lobby your congress critters.