At the height of the pandemic finding ways to serve your patients while keeping them safe was the highest priority. Some practices explored using some form of telehealth, or virtual visits to stay connected to their patients. Now that most of the COVID restrictions have been lifted, many have discovered that telehealth is an efficient and positive addition to their practice. 

There are many things to consider when deciding to offer telehealth visits. These include finding out if your business’s insurance provider excludes telehealth, determining if there are any state licensure restrictions or limitations concerning telehealth, making sure the technology you plan to use for these visits is compliant with HIPAA and any other privacy or security requirements and what impact, if any, telehealth visits will have on reimbursement.

Another important thing you should consider is how you will document the telehealth visits. Telehealth visits need to be documented the same as you would an in-person visit, but there are a few additional things you need to document as well:

• Patient consent for a telehealth visit

• Patient and practitioner location at the time of the visit

• The time the visit started and ended

• Any other persons present, both with the patient and the provider

• The type of visit (consultation, follow-up, etc.)

• The method and mechanism of the visit (audio, video or both)