This page will be updated as new resources and information becomes available.
Last Updated January 6, 2021, 3 p.m. HST

COVID-19 Vaccine

Payers and Telehealth

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Additional Resources

E-VISITS, TELEHEALTH, AND PAYMENT IN THE TIME OF THE PANDEMIC
Patti Taira-Tokuuke and Shawna Yee, APTA Hawaii Payer Relations Committee Co-Chairs
April 1, 2020

With the ever changing environment with the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve heard and received many questions and comments about e-visits and telehealth by physical therapists in Hawaii.

First of all, our state Practice Act and Administrative Rules are “silent” about whether PTs and PTAs may provide care using telehealth. But we have clarified through the Board of Physical Therapy that PTs may indeed use telehealth and that PTs may perform an initial evaluation via telehealth too. The standards of care are not waived when using telehealth, however, so PTs and PTAs delivering care in this way still need to . . . Read More

Message from APTA Hawaii President, Gregg Pacilio, PT:
March 19, 2020, 7:00 a.m. HST

While the reported number of COVID-19 cases in Hawaii is low at this time, the situation changes for the worse nearly every day and we want you to be as prepared as possible to make decisions about your life and your practice.

We encourage you to keep informed about government proclamations, such as the Hawaii Department of Health’s recommendations to practice social distancing and to limit gatherings to no more than 50 people. At this time, physical therapy clinics must use their clinical judgement regarding patient care and additional precautions to take in the clinic.

While providing patient care via telehealth is technically legal for PTs and PTAs in Hawaii, it is not always paid for by payers. Restrictions on payment for telehealth PT may ease up as this crisis continues. A waiver from CMS allows e-visits with patients. While not considered telehealth, this waiver provides some flexibility for treatment. At 2 p.m. Hawaiian time this afternoon (Thursday, March 19) APTA will host a free webinar on this topic. We will provide updated resources about telehealth and e-visits on our COVID-19 web page.