DELAWARE MOVES TO MAKE TELEMEDICINE MORE ACCESSIBLE -

On July 7, 2015, Governor Jack Markell signed into law House Bill No. 69 (DE LEGIS 80 (2015), 2015 Delaware Laws Ch. 80 (H.B. 69)), which amends various provisions of the Delaware Code to make telemedicine and telehealth more accessible in the State of Delaware. Telemedicine generally refers to a licensed healthcare provider who offers clinical healthcare services to a patient while the provider is not on-site with the patient. Similarly, telehealth refers to the technologies (such as storage and transmission technologies) used to provide telemedicine. The purpose of the new bill is to allow Delaware citizens to have better access to healthcare, especially where such access was limited due to fewer specialized physicians, through the use of new technologies.

The new laws require that medical providers who clinically treat patients through telemedicine in Delaware be paid the same as those providers who physically treat patients in the State of Delaware. Nonetheless, to protect Delaware citizens, the new laws require that the provider of telemedicine establish a proper physicianpatient relationship absent special circumstances, such as an emergency or informal and irregular consult by a physician, to qualify as “telemedicine.” 24 Del. C. § 1769D. These are laws consistent with the majority of other states who have enacted laws to protect providers of telemedicine and eliminate discrimination in payment practices against them.