Telehealth was a pandemic silver lining for the healthcare industry, but distance medicine won’t be as commonplace going forward.
Regulatory flexibility for healthcare providers during the pandemic, including expanded use of telehealth, is coming to an end, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis let his executive order declaring a public health emergency expire on Saturday. That means phone calls are no longer considered an acceptable platform for treating non-Medicare patients in Florida. Physicians can also no longer use telehealth to prescribe drugs to existing patients struggling with chronic pain or to recertify medical-marijuana patients. Doctors had lobbied to make some of the temporary changes permanent, but in the end they came up short.
Telehealth Could Suffer As Order Expires
