Telehealth Privacy

Telehealth Privacy Compliance

Overview

Telehealth (also termed telemedicine, virtual care, or remote patient monitoring) involves the delivery of healthcare services through electronic communications technologies when the patient and provider are in different locations. The rapid expansion of telehealth — accelerated during the COVID-19 public health emergency — created a complex regulatory environment where HIPAA, state privacy laws, telecommunications regulations, and professional licensing requirements converge. Privacy compliance for telehealth requires addressing the security of the communication platform, the privacy of the encounter, state-specific consent and recording requirements, cross-state practice considerations, and the obligations of technology vendors as business associates.

HIPAA Compliance for Telehealth

Core HIPAA Requirements

Telehealth encounters involve the creation, transmission, and storage of ePHI and are fully subject to HIPAA:

Platform Security Requirements

Asclepius Health Network evaluates telehealth platforms against these Security Rule requirements:

Access Controls (§164.312(a)):

• Unique user identification for all providers and patients
• Multi-factor authentication for provider access
• Patient authentication through verified identity (DOB verification, registered email/phone, patient portal credentials)
• Session-level access controls — each encounter creates a separate, access-controlled session
• Automatic session termination after provider disconnect or 5-minute inactivity

Audit Controls (§164.312(b)):

• Logging of all session events: initiation, connection, disconnection, duration, participants
• Recording access logs (who accessed any stored recordings)
• Chat/messaging logs maintained as part of the medical record
• Logs retained for minimum 6 years

Transmission Security (§164.312(e)):

• End-to-end encryption for video, audio, and data channels (minimum AES-128; Asclepius requires AES-256)
• TLS 1.2 or higher for signaling and data transport
• No unencrypted fallback — session fails rather than downgrades
• SRTP (Secure Real-time Transport Protocol) for media streams

Integrity Controls (§164.312(c)):

• Tamper-evident session metadata
• Digital signatures on stored encounter records
• Integrity verification on transmitted prescriptions and orders

Platforms Requiring BAA

OCR Enforcement Discretion During Public Health Emergency

On March 17, 2020, OCR issued a Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth Remote Communications (85 FR 22024), stating that during the COVID-19 public health emergency, OCR would exercise enforcement discretion and would not impose penalties for noncompliance with HIPAA related to the good-faith provision of telehealth using non-public-facing remote communication technologies:

What was permitted during enforcement discretion:

• Use of non-public-facing video platforms (Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger video, Google Hangouts video, Zoom, Skype) without a BAA
• Covered entities were expected to use encryption and privacy settings available on these platforms
• OCR encouraged providers to notify patients of potential privacy risks

What was NOT permitted even during enforcement discretion:

• Use of public-facing platforms (Facebook Live, Twitch, TikTok) where communications are open to the public
• Abandonment of all privacy protections (providers still had to use reasonable precautions)

Post-PHE Status: The COVID-19 PHE ended on May 11, 2023. OCR enforcement discretion for telehealth formally expired on August 9, 2023. All telehealth must now be conducted on HIPAA-compliant platforms with BAAs in place.

Asclepius Health Network: Asclepius transitioned all telehealth to BAA-covered platforms (Epic MyChart Video Visit as primary; Zoom for Healthcare as backup) prior to the enforcement discretion expiration. All consumer-grade platform use for clinical telehealth was discontinued.

State Licensing Requirements

Cross-State Telehealth Practice

Healthcare providers are generally licensed by individual states. Providing telehealth services to a patient in a state where the provider is not licensed may violate that state's medical practice act.

Key Licensing Models:

Privacy Implication: The state where the patient is physically located at the time of the telehealth encounter generally controls which state's privacy laws apply. This means the provider must comply with that state's specific privacy, consent, and recording requirements even if the provider is located in a different state.

Asclepius Health Network: Asclepius providers are licensed in the 4 states where Asclepius operates. For telehealth, the EHR prompts the provider to confirm the patient's physical location at the start of each encounter. The system applies location-specific consent requirements and recording notices based on the patient's state.

Recording Consent Requirements

HIPAA and Recording

HIPAA does not specifically address recording of telehealth encounters, but recordings containing ePHI are subject to all HIPAA protections. Recordings become part of or associated with the medical record and must be:

• Stored securely with encryption
• Subject to access controls
• Retained per the entity's record retention policy
• Made available to patients under the right of access (§164.524) if part of the designated record set

State Recording Consent Laws

State wiretapping and eavesdropping laws impose consent requirements on the recording of communications:

Two-party consent states require particular attention: A provider in a one-party state conducting telehealth with a patient in a two-party state must obtain the patient's consent before recording. The more restrictive state law controls.

Asclepius Health Network Recording Policy:

• All telehealth encounters may be recorded for quality assurance and medical record purposes
• Prior to recording, the platform displays a notice and requires patient acknowledgment: "This telehealth visit may be recorded for quality assurance and medical record purposes. Your provider will also be taking notes during the visit. Do you consent to the recording of this visit?"
• For patients in two-party consent states, recording does not proceed without affirmative consent
• For patients who decline recording, the encounter proceeds without recording; the provider documents clinical notes manually
• Recordings are encrypted and stored in the EHR document management system; access is restricted to the care team and authorized quality reviewers

Cross-State Prescribing

Federal Requirements

• DEA: Practitioners must be registered with the DEA to prescribe controlled substances. For telehealth prescribing of controlled substances, the Ryan Haight Act (21 USC §829(e)) generally requires at least one in-person medical evaluation before prescribing controlled substances via telehealth, with exceptions:
  • During DEA-declared telemedicine exceptions
  • When the patient is at a DEA-registered location (hospital, clinic)
  • Under specific state exemptions authorized by DEA
  • 2024 DEA proposed rule would establish a pathway for initial telehealth prescribing of Schedule III-V controlled substances with conditions

State Prescribing Rules

Asclepius Health Network: The telehealth platform integrates with the state PDMP for the patient's location. Providers must complete PDMP checks before prescribing controlled substances. The integration uses a HIPAA-compliant API with the state PDMP system. For cross-state encounters, the system automatically routes prescriptions to the correct state PDMP.

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Privacy

RPM-Specific Considerations

Remote patient monitoring involves continuous or periodic collection of health data from devices in the patient's home or on their person:

Patient Consent for RPM

While HIPAA does not require consent for treatment, RPM programs should obtain informed consent addressing:

• What data will be collected and how frequently
• Who will access the data (care team, monitoring center, BA)
• How data will be used (clinical decision-making, AI analytics, quality improvement)
• Patient's ability to pause or stop monitoring
• Security measures protecting transmitted data
• Limitations of RPM (not a substitute for emergency services)

Asclepius Health Network Telehealth Privacy Program

Governance

Environmental Security for Providers

Asclepius requires providers conducting telehealth to:

• Use a private room with closed door (no shared/open workspaces)
• Ensure no patient information visible on whiteboards, screens, or papers behind the provider
• Use headphones or earbuds to prevent audio leakage
• Lock workstation screen when stepping away during a session
• Not conduct telehealth visits from public locations (coffee shops, airports)
• Use only Asclepius-managed or approved devices for telehealth

Enforcement

• OCR Enforcement Discretion (2020-2023): During the COVID-19 PHE, OCR exercised enforcement discretion for good-faith telehealth. Post-PHE, full HIPAA enforcement applies.
• No OCR enforcement actions specific to telehealth privacy violations as of early 2025, but OCR has emphasized that the return to normal enforcement means platforms must be HIPAA-compliant with BAAs.
• State AG actions: Multiple state AGs have investigated telehealth companies for privacy practices, particularly regarding consumer-facing telehealth apps that may not be HIPAA-covered entities (Cerebral, Done Health — FTC and state AG investigations in 2023-2024 for unauthorized PHI disclosure to third-party advertisers).

Integration Points

• hipaa-privacy-rule: All telehealth encounters are subject to full Privacy Rule compliance
• hipaa-security-rule: Telehealth platforms must meet all technical safeguards; transmission security is paramount
• hipaa-baa-management: Telehealth vendors require BAAs; evaluation of vendor security posture is critical
• hipaa-breach-notify: Platform compromises or unauthorized recording access trigger breach analysis
• healthcare-ai-privacy: AI integrated into telehealth (AI scribes, clinical decision support during visits) creates compound obligations
• 42-cfr-part-2: Telehealth SUD treatment encounters are subject to Part 2 protections in addition to HIPAA