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PATIENT EMPOWERMENT NETWORK
Here in Eastern Massachusetts, I have a medical license in Massachusetts, but regularly take care of patients who live in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, because they often had come in for office visits. So now if we're doing follow-up care, there's a mechanism where I can still take care of them, even though I don't have a medical license in those two other states. Waiving restrictions on state licensure is important to point out because it's really enabling us to again deliver better care to more people. The question then becomes, after this crisis is over, will we have to go back to the very old-fashioned, state-by-state geographic border-based care delivery model? This is something that the ATA is working on, as well as the need to maintain patient privacy, especially for providers using telehealth for the first time, who may not be familiar with these new procedures. I would also point out that the biggest part of health data security is how we record that visit in the medical record, and that hasn't changed. We do that in a very secure way. It's something we take very seriously. And I don't mean to say that you'd never get hacked. It's part of reality that anyone can get hacked any time, but I don't believe it's something that should get in the way of delivering care. Thank you. These are interesting times and we are moving at an amazing speed. The incredible growth in the use of telemedicine that you have described is a testament to how there can be beneficial and unintended consequences of a pandemic. Thank you very much for joining us and for sharing your expertise.
Honora Miller:
Dr. Kvedar:
It's been a real honor and pleasure.
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