‘Telehealth 2.0’ is goal of OIG reviews

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector is reviewing telehealth use during the pandemic with an eye on building the blueprint for “telehealth 2.0,” according to Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi Grimm.

 

The OIG recently shared comments Grimm made to the American Health Law Association’s annual meeting June 29, and telehealth was among the topics of focus.

 

“It is important that new policies and technologies with potential to improve care and enhance convenience achieve these goals and are not compromised by fraud, abuse, or misuse,” she said. “Effectively expanding telehealth and ensuring program integrity will take effort on a number of fronts that may not be considered traditional compliance issues: cybersecurity, interoperability and patient access to technology.”

 

Grimm said OIG’s work on telehealth will contribute to “building a new blueprint for telehealth 2.0 by helping ensure the potential benefits of telehealth are realized for patients, providers, and HHS programs, while identifying key program integrity factors policymakers should consider.”