HEALTHCARE COMPLIANCE IN CHANGING REGULATORY LANDSCAPE

While telehealth enabled the healthcare industry to remain open and accessible to patients during the pandemic, its widespread use, coupled with the relaxation of many restrictions, has made the modality ripe for abuse. Based on the federal government’s history of aggressively investigating medical fraud and abuse, healthcare organizations that fail to remain compliant with telehealth regulation run the risk of exposing their practices to costly litigation and fines. The utility of telehealth predates the public health emergency, but the latter spurred unprecedented growth in provider and patient adoption of the technology. During the first half of 2020, nearly one-third of all visits for commercially insured and Medicare Advantage enrollees occurred using telehealth — a 23-fold increase of the same period the prior year. What’s more, the availability of telehealth services has resonated with consumers, with health plans reporting double-digit gains in overall member satisfaction as a result.