Poison – the rock band, not the substance – reminded us that every rose has its thorns, and that's certainly true when it comes to telemedicine. Telemed brings primary care and so much more, like substance use treatment and even physical therapy, into the virtual age. It offers unprecedented convenience to patients, lower overhead for providers and safety during a pandemic. But it's not all a bed of roses. In this episode, Scott and Ed discuss telemedicine's clinical and convenience advantages but warn about the compliance thorns that come with it. They discuss:

• Why is offering a telemed portal only to enrollees in the major medical plan a best practice?
• Why is it ok to go against the above mentioned best practice during the COVID-19 public health emergency?
• Why do some vendors mislead employers into thinking pairing telemed with a high deductible health plan is no big deal?
• How to reconcile telemed with HSA eligibility, what's the telemed/HDHP/HSA "free pass," and how long does it last?