Trending in Telehealth highlights state legislative and regulatory developments that impact the healthcare providers, telehealth and digital health companies, pharmacists and technology companies that deliver and facilitate the delivery of virtual care.

Trending in the past week:

• Interstate compacts
• Scope of practice
• Medicaid reimbursement

A CLOSER LOOK

Finalized Legislation & Rulemaking

• Arkansas passed final rule, which provides Medicaid coverage for ambulance telemedicine triage services. Specifically, an ambulance service may triage and transport a beneficiary to an alternative destination or treat in place if the ambulance service is coordinating the care of the beneficiary through telemedicine with a physician for a medical-based complaint or with a behavioral health specialist for a behavioral-based complaint.

Legislation & Rulemaking Activity in Proposal Phase

Highlights:

• Florida proposed a rule to clarify the Board of Psychology’s supervised experience requirements in light of recent statutory changes involving telehealth.
• Iowa proposed rules to clarify the scope of practice including recordkeeping, ethical practice standards, and use of telehealth visits for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants and physical therapists and physical therapist assistants.
• Nevada proposed a rule to define a social workers’ scope of practice and licensure requirements and clarify when services may be provided through telehealth to a client outside the State of Nevada, among other things.
• South Carolina progressed H 4159 in the second chamber to enact the South Carolina Telehealth and Telemedicine Modernization Act. The bill defines necessary terms and provides requirements for certain regulated healthcare professionals who provide healthcare by means of telehealth; amends definitions in the medical practice act to define “telehealth”; and amends law relating to the practice of telemedicine to revise requirements for the practice of telemedicine and to include provisions concerning telehealth.
• South Dakota progressed HB 1015 in the second chamber to adopt the social work licensure compact.
• Utah progressed SB 24 in the first chamber. The bill clarifies the scope of practice of physician assistants to include telepsychiatry services.

Why it matters:

• States continue to progress laws clarifying the use of telehealth within a practitioners’ scope of practice. This week, Florida, Iowa, Nevada and Utah proposed rules or progressed legislation clarifying that several healthcare practitioners’ scope of practice include the use of telehealth.

Telehealth is an important development in care delivery, but the regulatory patchwork is complicated. The McDermott digital health team works alongside the industry’s leading providers, payors and technology innovators to help them enter new markets, break down barriers to delivering accessible care and mitigate enforcement risk through proactive compliance. 

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