Skip to main content

Nixon Peabody LLP

  • People
  • Capabilities
  • Insights
  • About
Trending Topics
    • People
    • Capabilities
    • Insights
    • About
    • Locations
    • Events
    • Careers
    • Alumni
    Practices

    View All

    • Affordable Housing
    • Community Development Finance
    • Corporate & Finance
    • Cybersecurity & Privacy
    • Entertainment & Media
    • Environmental
    • Franchising & Distribution
    • Government Investigations & White Collar Defense
    • Healthcare
    • Intellectual Property
    • International Services
    • Labor, Employment, and Benefits
    • Litigation
    • Private Wealth & Advisory
    • Project Finance
    • Public Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Regulatory & Government Relations
    Industries

    View All

    • Aviation
    • Cannabis
    • Consumer
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Higher Education
    • Infrastructure
    • Manufacturing
    • Nonprofit Organizations
    • Real Estate
    • Sports & Stadiums
    • Technology
    Value-Added Services

    View All

    • Alternative Fee Arrangements

      Developing innovative pricing structures and alternative fee agreement models that deliver additional value for our clients.

    • Continuing Education

      Advancing professional knowledge and offering credits for attorneys, staff and other professionals.

    • Crisis Advisory

      Helping clients respond correctly when a crisis occurs.

    • DEI Strategic Services

      Providing our clients with legal, strategic, and practical advice to make transformational changes in their organizations.

    • eDiscovery

      Leveraging law and technology to deliver sound solutions.

    • Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

      We help clients create positive return on investments in people, products, and the planet.

    • Global Services

      Delivering seamless service through partnerships across the globe.

    • Innovation

      Leveraging leading-edge technology to guide change and create seamless, collaborative experiences for clients and attorneys.

    • IPED

      Industry-leading conferences focused on affordable housing, tax credits, and more.

    • Legal Project Management

      Providing actionable information to support strategic decision-making.

    • Legally Green

      Teaming with clients to advance sustainable projects, mitigate the effects of climate change, and protect our planet.

    • Nixon Peabody Trust Company

      Offering a range of investment management and fiduciary services.

    • NP Capital Connector

      Bringing together companies and investors for tomorrow’s new deals.

    • NP Second Opinion

      Offering fresh insights on cases that are delayed, over budget, or off-target from the desired resolution.

    • NP Trial

      Courtroom-ready lawyers who can resolve disputes early on clients’ terms or prevail at trial before a judge or jury.

    • Social Impact

      Creating positive impact in our communities through increasing equity, access, and opportunity.

    • Women in Dealmaking

      We provide strategic counsel on complex corporate transactions and unite dynamic women in the dealmaking arena.

    1. Home
    2. Insights
    3. Articles
    4. Telehealth trends in a post-public health emergency world

      Articles

    Article

    Telehealth trends in a post-public health emergency world

    April 26, 2023

    LinkedInX (Twitter)EmailCopy URL
    Changes are coming for telehealth patients and providers when the national COVID-19 public health emergency ends on May 11th. 

    The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) created pathways to ensure that we could respond to the pandemic and also opened up new ways of healthcare in our country. In some ways, it pushed healthcare forward, but in other ways it created a crisis that we needed to respond to.

    The public health emergency expanded telehealth and virtual care

    Before the pandemic, telehealth and virtual care were mostly used for rural healthcare and on Native American reservations. There were certain pilot programs underway around telehealth, but it wasn’t widely adopted. After the pandemic and public health waivers, the ability to have telehealth in your house was a monumental shift in healthcare. Before, you had to drive to a hospital or a center to receive treatment. Now, you can sit in your house and receive services and talk to your provider. When the PHE expires on May 11th, it will be imperative to figure out whether we continue providing telehealth services as part of the healthcare delivery system in the US.

    What happens with telehealth with the COVID-19 PHE ending?

    As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed earlier this year, Medicare extended telehealth benefits to December 31, 2024. During that period, providers will be looking at the adoption of telehealth, pulling data, and seeing where telehealth visits are more impactful on your health versus an in-person visit. As for private insurance plans, it’s up to each one individually to adopt telehealth services. Many have decided that telehealth is an impactful way to deliver care and have built those services into their insurance coverage.

    How does access to testing, vaccines, PPE, etc. change with the PHE ending?

    Access was a top priority during the PHE, which is why we saw testing centers and vaccination clinics pop up. As PHE waivers go away and we look at this pandemic in a different light, we’ll be back to getting tested by physicians and getting vaccinated as well, or possibly in a different model. During the pandemic, you could go to any doctor’s office or other locations such as a center to access testing and vaccines. When the PHE expires, testing and vaccinations for COVID-19 will be integrated into our current care delivery system. One innovation of the pandemic was the expansion of vaccinations in pharmacies and in other models outside of the physician’s office. This was something that was already starting in the market before the pandemic began, and now consumers are more comfortable going into a pharmacy to get a shot or other services than ever before.

    The federal PHE is ending, but state laws are still at play

    We need to look at both state and federal law when determining whether testing, vaccines, telehealth services, etc. that were available during the pandemic will remain in place. Some of those flexibilities were already part of the law before the pandemic, while others came with PHE waivers. A lot of these laws are state-by-state, which can be dissatisfying for people who may not be able to have a telehealth visit or receive a COVID-19 test or vaccination in the same way as people in other states.

    The PHE gave us a glimpse of a virtual healthcare model

    The most important focus when the PHE ends will be how healthcare is delivered across the country with the idea of a potential virtual model. At the beginning of the pandemic, patients and practitioners were hesitant about the adoption of telehealth because they weren’t certain how it would feel to have a screen between them and the patient. Since then, we’ve seen success with the adoption of telehealth services, with many patients and practitioners still using it. It’s an exciting time in healthcare to see if we can create a new model where you don’t necessarily have to go into a building to seek care. We’re figuring out what the future of healthcare looks like in the US.

    Practices

    Digital Health & TelemedicineHealthcare

    Industries

    Healthcare

    Insights And Happenings

    • Alert

      Key operational issues for reproductive healthcare companies

      June 26, 2023
    • Alert

      Increasing regulation of reproductive tissue banks

      May 18, 2023
    • Alert

      New York to Increase Scrutiny of Healthcare Transactions

      May 11, 2023
    The foregoing has been prepared for the general information of clients and friends of the firm. It is not meant to provide legal advice with respect to any specific matter and should not be acted upon without professional counsel. If you have any questions or require any further information regarding these or other related matters, please contact your regular Nixon Peabody LLP representative. This material may be considered advertising under certain rules of professional conduct.

    Subscribe to stay informed of the latest legal news, alerts, and business trends.Subscribe

    • People
    • Capabilities
    • Insights
    • About
    • Locations
    • Events
    • Careers
    • Alumni
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Statement of Client Rights
    • Purchase Order Terms & Conditions
    • Nixon Peabody International LLC
    • PAL
    © 2025 Nixon Peabody. All rights reserved