OIG Issues Favorable Opinion for Providing Free Smartphones to Patients to Promote Telehealth Services

The increased use of telehealth services is a trend that is expected to continue long after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. In keeping with this trend, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a favorable Advisory Opinion that allowed a federally qualified health center (FQHC) to provide free smartphones to its existing patients in an effort to facilitate telehealth services and reduce social isolation caused by the pandemic.…