Understanding the Telehealth Consent
The telehealth consent is an important tool to educate patients about the benefits and risks of a telehealth visit
The Consent represents an opportunity to address privacy and security issues
Despite not being required in all states, the telehealth consent is consider a best practice
May 21, 2020 — Among other things, the purpose of the telehealth consent is to: 1) educate the patient on what telehealth is and what benefits it offers, 2) address the possible consequences and risks involved in a telehealth visit, 3) explain privacy and HIPAA considerations to the patient. The consent can be obtained in a written form or verbal.
Many telehealth stakeholders feel that the informed consent is a hindrance to the delivery of medical services via telehealth. Requiring informed consent misrepresents telehealth as a different form of service or procedure, rather than as a useful tool that improves access to quality health care (1). However, it remains a required component of telehealth visits.
While Medicare and some states do not require an informed telehealth consent, it is required in most states statutes and Medicaid programs. In addition, some professional organizations recommend obtaining telehealth consent as a component of telemedicine best practices (2, 3, 4).
Read more on state-specific consent requirements: CCHP’s State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies - Spring 2020
The telehealth informed consent is best defined in California’s Telemedicine Development Act of 1996 (5). The Act imposes several requirements to facilitate the implementation of telemedicine. One of the requirements is to obtain a written or verbal informed consent prior to the telehealth visit. Failure to do so constitutes unprofessional conduct. Per the Act, the following information must be provided to the patient during the consent process:
Individual retains the option to withhold or withdraw consent at any time without affecting the right to future care
A description of the potential risks, consequences, and benefits of telemedicine
Explain privacy and confidentiality protections during the telehealth visit
Patient access to all medical records during the telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee
Dissemination of any patient identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without the consent of the patient
Despite the growth and diffusion of telehealth, the informed consent remains a sort of “distant cousin” which we all know exists, but don’t know much about it. To learn more, I recommend reviewing the following telehealth consent document from the Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center (umtrc.org)
Telehealth Consent Form — Courtesy of the Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center
If you have any question about this article, feel free to contact me.
References:
CCHP - National Policy. Informed Consent. https://bit.ly/3e8ky3Z
American Telemedicine Association. Core Operational Guidelines for Telehealth Services Involving Provider-Patient Interaction. 2014.
Federation of State Medical Boards. Model Policy for the Appropriate Use of Telemedicine Technologies in the Practice of Medicine. https://bit.ly/2T7dVGR. 2014.
American Medical Association. 50-State Survey: Establishment of a Patient-Physician Relationship via Telemedicine. Advocacy Resource Center https://bit.ly/3fRrm7t. 2018
Telemedicine Development Act of 1996 - S.B. 1665. https://bit.ly/2XjjS4O
