Dr. Watts on the originating site in telemedicine

At the 2023 American Urological Association Summit, Lisa Finkelstein, DO, and Kara L. Watts, MD, presented 5 key points for urologists to discuss with legislators regarding telemedicine. The first was elimination of the originating site requirement, which Watts discusses in this video.

Transcription:

For those who are not aware, the originating site is referring to where the patient is located. When telehealth was very first developed, the intention was for patients in very rural or remote areas who didn't have ready access to nearby health care providers. The originating site was previously a health care designated facility with [The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996]-compliant platforms that a lot of times patients had to travel to. And so with the public health emergency waivers with the pandemic, the originating site could be anywhere. For a lot of people, it's essentially their home, it could be in their car, really wherever they have access to a phone or broadband. It's just made telehealth a lot more accessible to patients and their families, and sometimes giving a view into their house, their domicile, what might be affecting them in their day-to-day living. Allowing the waiver to continue indefinitely would be a tremendous win for telehealth for both sides, the patients and the health care providers.

This transcription was edited for clarity.