Federal Communications Commission.
Notice.
In this document, the Commission clarifies that the use of Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) programs to facilitate telephone calls between health care professionals and patients, when one of the parties to the call has a hearing or speech disability, does not violate the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This document also clarifies that, consistent with HIPAA, a covered entity, such as a doctor or other health care professional,
Effective June 16, 2004.
Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.
Traci Randolph, (202) 418–0569 (voice), (202) 418–0537 (TTY), or e-mail
This is a summary of the Commission's
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As background, TRS, as mandated by Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, makes the telephone system accessible to individuals with hearing or speech disabilities.
We therefore emphasize that all forms of TRS, including “traditional” TTY based relay, Internet Protocol (IP) Relay, Video Relay Service (VRS), and Speech-to-Speech (STS), can be used to facilitate calls between health care professionals and patients without violating HIPPA's Privacy Rule. For further information on this issue