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USA: OCR announces enforcement discretion during Coronavirus emergency
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office for Civil Rights ('OCR') announced, on 17 March 2020, in a bulletin ('the Bulletin') that, effective immediately, it would exercise enforcement discretion and waive potential penalties for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ('HIPAA') against health care providers that serve patients through everyday communications during the COVID-19 ('Coronavirus') outbreak. In particular, the Bulletin highlights that the OCR's exercise of discretion applies to the use of widely available communications apps, such as FaceTime or Skype, if used for any telehealth or diagnostic purpose and in good faith, and outlines that the services provided need not be directly related to Coronavirus.
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