Trending in Telehealth highlights monthly 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 March:
- Expansion of telehealth across additional professions (veterinary medicine, genetic counseling, social work, naturopathic medicine).
- Licensure flexibility and cross‑state practice, including reciprocity and compacts.
- Telehealth integration into emergency, rural, and specialty-care models.
A CLOSER LOOK
Proposed legislation and rulemaking:
- Both chambers of the Virginia legislature passed HB 1391 establishing a Sickle Cell Coordinated Access Network, which among other things, would allow specialists to provide telehealth consultations on pain management, treatment protocols, and care coordination.
- In Florida, both chambers passed SB 688, which would revise existing laws related to naturopathic medicine, including adding licensed naturopathic doctors to the term “telehealth provider.”
- In West Virginia, the first chamber passed SB 677 allowing genetic counselors to provide telehealth services.
- In Colorado, the first chamber passed HB 1069, clarifying that “emergency services” includes transportation of an individual to an appropriate location other than a hospital or community integrated healthcare service agency. The use of telemedicine when an insured person has encountered an ambulance service or agency to prevent the need to transport the person to an emergency department is included in the definition of “emergency services,” which services are required to be made available to insured persons 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
- The first chamber of the Hawaii legislature passed HB 2558 aimed at addressing Hawaii’s physician shortage by allowing out-of-state doctors to establish initial physician-patient relationship with Hawaii residents through telehealth services under certain conditions.
- Both chambers of the Georgia legislature passed HB 1195 amending Georgia law to allow licensed veterinarians and veterinary technicians to practice telemedicine, teleadvice, and teletriage without requiring an established veterinarian client patient relationship.
- The first chamber of the Arizona legislature passed SB 1286 permitting veterinarians to establish a client-patient relationship through electronic means.
- In Hawaii, the first chamber passed HB 1871, which would establish the Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program within the state Department of Health to offer eligible participants improved maternal healthcare through remote patient monitoring for maternal hypertension and maternal diabetes.
- Both chambers of the Kentucky legislature passed HB 424, which regulates the provision of social work services via telehealth in Kentucky by clarifying that social work may be practiced in person, through telehealth, or through other technology, but only by appropriately licensed individuals, those holding a temporary permit, or practitioners authorized under the Social Work Licensure Compact. The bill defines “telehealth” by reference to existing Kentucky law and establishes detailed requirements for telehealth practice, including informed consent, confidentiality, accessibility for individuals with disabilities, proper use of HIPAA‑compliant technology, identity and location verification, documentation, and adherence to the same standards of care as in‑person services. It also addresses cross‑border telehealth by permitting licensed out‑of‑state and multistate practitioners to provide services to Kentucky clients.
- The Board of Dental Examiners of Nevada proposed a rule establishing regulations around teledentistry.
Finalized legislation and rulemaking:
- New Mexico’s governor signed into law HB 306, which prohibits healthcare providers and systems in New Mexico from charging facility fees directly to patients for preventive healthcare, vaccinations, and telehealth services, while exceptions are made for inpatient and emergency settings.
- The South Carolina governor signed H 3223 into law, which governs the use of telehealth for veterinary services. The law went into effect on March 9, 2026.
- West Virginia’s governor signed HB 5458 into law, allowing a genetic counselor to provide telehealth services and instructing the Board of Medicine to promulgate a rule for legislative approval establishing the standard of care for the provision of genetic counseling via telehealth. The law goes into effect on June 7, 2026.
- The Maine governor signed LD 1583 into law allowing home healthcare providers in Maine to accept orders from physicians licensed in other states, removing the need for those physicians to be licensed in Maine for this purpose. Orders are limited to 90 days and pertain solely to home healthcare services, excluding hospice care. Healthcare providers must be certified by the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the ordering physicians must conduct an in-person examination before issuing orders. Removing previous requirements, out-of-state physicians don’t need to contact Maine patients’ primary care providers and can provide related telehealth services only to those specific patients.
- Utah’s governor signed SB 150 into law, which requires that the Office of Professional Licensure Review conduct a scope of practice review to determine whether to recommend that a regulated healthcare occupation should incorporate an innovation into the regulated healthcare occupation’s practice in a way that would expand the scope of the regulated healthcare occupation’s license. “Upgrade in technology” means an addition or change to artificial intelligence; a medical device; medical equipment; a medical tool; or any other technology the office determines has the potential for a healthcare practitioner to use in the healthcare practitioner’s practice.
- Utah’s governor also signed HB 389 into law, amending provisions related to medical cannabis, including allowing any patient to obtain a medical cannabis patient card from a recommending medical provider through a virtual visit.
Compact activity:
- The following states introduced bills to enact licensure compacts:
- Dietitian Licensure Compact: Kentucky, Washington.
- Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact: Kansas, Oklahoma
- Social Work Licensure Compact: West Virginia.
- Audiology and Speech-Language Compact: Kansas.
Why it matters:
- States continue to normalize telehealth as a core mode of service delivery across a widening range of licensed professionals, going well beyond traditional physician‑based care. Legislative activity in March reflects deliberate efforts to clarify supervision standards, authorize remote establishment of patient relationships, and expressly include telehealth within statutory scopes of practice. This provides greater certainty for providers and platforms operating in niche or emerging care models, particularly in veterinary, genetic counseling, and social work.
- Licensure mobility and reciprocity remain a major policy priority as states seek to address workforce shortages and access gaps. Measures allowing out‑of‑state practitioners to deliver telehealth services, recognize compact privileges, or rely on licensure waivers underscore a sustained shift toward facilitating cross‑border care rather than limiting practice to in‑state licensure alone.
- Policymakers are increasingly leveraging telehealth to address access challenges in rural, emergency, and underserved settings. From permitting general supervision via telecommunications in critical access facilities to incorporating telemedicine into emergency medical services and maternal health monitoring programs, March trends show telehealth being embedded into public health infrastructure rather than treated as a standalone or temporary alternative to in‑person care.
Telehealth is an important development in care delivery, but the regulatory patchwork is complicated. The McDermott Will & Schulte 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.
