The Notifications of Enforcement Discretion issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act during the COVID-19 public health emergency expired at 11:59 pm on May 11, 2023, due to the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

As previously announced, the HHS Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") is providing a 90-calendar day transition period for covered health care providers to come into compliance with the HIPAA Rules with respect to the provision of telehealth in particular. The transition period will be in effect beginning on May 12, 2023, and will expire at 11:59 p.m. on August 9, 2023. OCR 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 during the 90-calendar day transition period. Other HIPAA enforcement activity by OCR that was relaxed during the PHE will also return to normal.

To view Foley Hoag's Security, Privacy and The Law Blog please click here

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.