Billing Telehealth/Telemedicine and Vision Therapy

The internet is often the first venue through which we hear about changes in our profession. Sometimes it is valid and supported information, other times conjecture or rumor. This juxtaposition was highlighted recently with the expansion of telehealth services due to COVID-19 and the CMS 1135 waiver that expanded the use of telehealth. Doctors have been getting information regarding billing from the internet and it has been unclear if these rules are valid or rumor based. Telemedicine has traditionally been bound by the same patient protection laws as conventional medicine to protect the doctor and the patient for provision of care. The CMS changes that cascaded through private carriers were primarily loosening the restrictions. As Doctors of Optometry that practice vision therapy, vision rehabilitation or simply behavioral based eye care our interactions with telehealth technology raise many ethical questions.