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 April:
• Teledentistry
• Prescription and drug dispensing and monitoring
• Remote monitoring
A CLOSER LOOK
Proposed Legislation & Rulemaking:
- Georgia HB 567, which would authorize and regulate teledentistry, successfully passed both chambers of the legislature. The bill specifies that a dentist must have a physical office in the state, maintain relationships with in-person referral dentists, and ensure that teledentistry services adhere to existing standards for patient care, including privacy and consent requirements.
- Arkansas HB 1429 would allow interpreting physicians to be available via telecommunication instead of requiring their physical presence onsite for diagnostic mammography procedures. The bill has cleared the House and the Senate.
- Hawaii HB 302 received approval from both the House and the Senate. The bill would repeal the requirement for an in-person provider-patient relationship and permit applicants or primary caregivers to temporarily purchase medical cannabis after submitting the applicant’s certification form.
- Passing in a second chamber, Indiana SB 473 would enable prescription of agonist opioids through telehealth services, without an in-person visit, for the treatment or management of opioid dependence.
- Arizona SB 1335, which would mandate the director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System to provide an annual report on teledentistry, passed in a second chamber.
- Montana HB 806 passed in a second chamber. The bill would revise laws related to nutritionists and dietitians, including incorporating the provision of services via telehealth into the definition of “practice of nutrition.”
Finalized Legislation & Rulemaking Activity:
- Indiana HB 1572 was signed into law and goes into effect July 1, 2025. This law adds speech-language pathology assistants to the definition of “practitioner” for telehealth purposes, specifies services included in “audiology,” and allows the sale and use of over-the-counter hearing aids without fitting by a registered hearing aid dealer or licensed audiologist.
- North Dakota’s SB 2353 was signed into law and goes into effect on August 1, 2025. It allows certified community behavioral health clinics to provide telemedicine consultations for mental health and substance use disorder treatments.
- Expanding telehealth services, Virginia SB 1367 was signed into law and goes into effect July 1, 2025. This law allows remote patient monitoring for pregnant and postpartum individuals, ensuring broader access to telehealth monitoring beyond high-risk pregnancies.
- Wyoming adopted regulation 7211 as an emergency rule on April 3, 2025. The rule enhances telehealth services within the state by allowing healthcare providers licensed in other states to offer telehealth services to patients in Wyoming without needing a Wyoming license, provided they notify the appropriate licensing board and meet certain conditions.
- Ohio’s SB 95 went into effect on April 9, 2025. The law regulates remote dispensing pharmacies, requires health plans and pharmacy benefit managers to allow pharmacies to mail or deliver drugs, and expands the injectable drugs that pharmacists may administer to include HIV drugs.
- Colorado HB 1024, which updates provider professional requirements, was signed into law. It includes updated telehealth definitions and obligations related to consent and medical record documentation. Colorado SB 129 also was signed into law and clarifies that requirements for out-of-state telehealth providers do not alter or limit the rights and protections afforded to a person concerning a legally protected healthcare activity.
- D.C. Bill 25 exempts digital-only telehealth platforms and providers from the certificate of need process. It was signed into law and goes into effect October 1, 2025.
- New Mexico SB 252 was signed into law and goes into effect on June 1, 2025. It adds certain types of providers to the telehealth statutory definitions, including certified peer support workers and other healthcare professionals with a Medicaid provider identification number.
- Wisconsin’s Med 24 final rule, established by the Department of Safety and Professional Services and the Medical Examining Board, sets comprehensive guidelines for telemedicine and telehealth practices and provides for a more flexible definition of “telehealth” as outlined in Wis. Stat. § 440.01. Healthcare providers must be licensed in Wisconsin to offer telemedicine services to patients within the state. The effective date is June 1, 2025.
- Maine LD 765 was signed into law, amending the rules governing the controlled substances prescription monitoring program and enhancing prescriber definitions to include telehealth providers.
- West Virginia SB 710 was signed into law and creates telehealth practice standards for teledentistry.
Compact Activity:
- Several states have advanced licensure compacts. These compacts enable certain healthcare professionals to practice across state lines, whether in person or via telemedicine. The following states have introduced bills to enact these compacts:
- Social Work Licensure Compact: North Carolina, Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas, and South Carolina.
- Dietitian Licensure Compact: Arkansas and Iowa.
- Physical Therapy Licensure Compact: Florida.
- Several states issued laws enacting these compacts:
Why it matters:
- As teledentistry gains momentum, states increasingly turn to telehealth solutions for dental care. Georgia, Arizona, and West Virginia have each advanced legislation or regulations to expand access to teledentistry services. Teledentistry providers may be well positioned to collaborate with dental professionals to bridge gaps in dental healthcare.
- States are increasingly adopting legislation to expand telehealth services for prescriptions and drug dispensing. Hawaii, Indiana, and Ohio have all make advancements in telehealth services for prescription and drug dispensing. This is of significant importance as it enhances healthcare accessibility, particularly for individuals in remote or underserved regions. It provides convenience, reduces healthcare costs, and improves patient monitoring. These advancements improve telehealth access by ensuring providers can offer a wider range of services remotely.
- States are advancing legislation to expand remote patient monitoring (RPM). States such as Virginia and Wyoming are advancing legislation to expand RPM to improve the quality of healthcare delivery. This expansion allows for continuous monitoring of patients’ health conditions, leading to timely interventions and better management of chronic diseases. It also facilitates personalized care plans based on real-time data, enhancing patient outcomes. Moreover, RPM supports healthcare providers in making informed decisions, thereby improving overall healthcare efficiency and effectiveness.
- States are increasingly allowing practitioners to provide telehealth services beyond state borders. By expanding interstate licensure agreements, access to skilled practitioners is improved, particularly in rural and underserved areas. These agreements also boost career prospects and streamline the licensing process across multiple states.
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.
