What is a Telehealth Agreement Review?
A telehealth agreement is a legal agreement between a patient and a telehealth services provider that explains the terms and conditions for providing health services remotely.
If you’ve drafted a telehealth agreement, you should review it to ensure that all its terms are clear and specific, as well as tailored to your specific telehealth services.
Read the rest of this article for the key contract terms to note, how to review a telehealth agreement accurately, and how to hire a lawyer to provide a legal review of the contract.
What are Key Terms to Review in a Telehealth Agreement?
A telehealth agreement usually contains core information that you should review, such as the:
- Scope. Check that the services provided are outlined so that it’s clear exactly what is being offered, such as virtual consultations.
- Consent. The patient must agree to all the terms and consent to the telehealth services.
- Privacy and confidentiality. Since data is shared between parties, check that the agreement contains provisions for protecting it.
- Payments and fees. Specify all the virtual consultation costs and what additional fees will be required, such as for medication prescriptions.
- Liability and indemnification. Pay attention to who’s responsible for what, such as third-party claims, damages, and malpractice.
- Licensing. Check that the clinician treating patients has the required valid medical licenses in the relevant jurisdiction or state.
What are Tips for Reviewing a Telehealth Agreement?
When reviewing a telehealth agreement, you should pay attention to some important aspects of it to protect your interests.
Ensure Legal Compliance
Take some time to review the agreement terms and ensure they’re aligned with all relevant state and federal laws and regulations to prevent legal disputes.
Review the Payment Terms
All payment terms in the agreement must specify the fee structures and billing responsibilities so that parties know what’s expected of them.
Flag Vague Patient Information
The agreement must provide clear, specific information patients need to know about the telehealth services, such as their benefits and limitations.
It’s important for patients to be made aware of everything as this will prevent misunderstandings and disputes that cost you in the future.
Consider Cross-Border Provisions
It’s important to identify cross-border services, if applicable, as this can change the licensing and scope requirements depending on where the patient is based.
Explain Recording Duties
Recording audio, video, or transcriptions for the purpose of providing medical care must be clearly defined so that it’s clear how they’re stored and who owns the recordings. Provision must be made for patient consent.
Verify Clinical Responsibilities
The agreement must specify who makes clinical decisions and how follow-ups or referrals are handled. Consider how emergencies will be dealt with, too, to protect the patient.
Address Tech Failures
Since healthcare services are provided remotely, technology plays a big role in them. The agreement must explain what will happen if there are technology failures, such as if the video or audio fails or the patient loses connectivity. This will prevent challenges.
Do You Need a Lawyer to Review Your Telehealth Agreement?
A lawyer is advisable to consult to review your telehealth agreement so that it’s clear and fair to both parties, while protecting your interests.
A lawyer will help you by:
- Identifying both parties and their obligations, so there’s no confusion about what’s expected of them.
- Checking regulatory compliance so that the agreement terms are compliant with all healthcare licensing and other laws or regulations.
- Reviewing privacy clauses to examine exactly how patient data is collected, used, and stored.
- Assessing liability and risk. They’ll check which party is responsible for things that could go wrong, such as if a patient is harmed or data is breached.
- Evaluating insurance requirements. They’ll confirm that the insurance coverage matches the obligations parties are accepting under the agreement.
- Checking all payment terms and fees that could apply, such as late-payment penalties.
- Reviewing all dispute resolution terms so that an effective method for resolving disagreements is established. This protects you against costly or time-consuming litigation.
- Flagging any ambiguous language and revising it so that the agreement is clear and specific.
- Ensuring that the agreement terms are aligned with the telehealth practice.
- Establishing a comprehensive and legally valid final draft of your telehealth agreement.
Where to Find a Lawyer to Review Your Telehealth Agreement
If you need to hire a lawyer to conduct a legal review of your telehealth agreement, you can find one who’s experienced online. Online legal platforms make the process of finding and hiring a lawyer easy.
ContractsCounsel is one of the largest online legal marketplaces that connects you to a curated network of vetted lawyers. Instead of searching for a lawyer and reaching out to them, you’ll post a request for a contract review and lawyers will come to you.
Here is how to get started:
- Go to the ContractsCounsel marketplace, where it’s free to post a request.
- Select ‘one-time project’ and ‘contract review.’
- Specify some details of what you need, such as why you’re seeking a legal review of the agreement.
- Wait for bids. You’ll receive lawyer bids from lawyers on the platform who are ready to help you, instead of having to search for a lawyer.
- Evaluate the lawyer’s information. Go through the information provided by the platform, such as the lawyers’ location, expertise, years of experience, and client ratings for previous projects completed on the platform.
- Select a lawyer who matches your requirements and hire them to review a telehealth agreement for a flat fee.