professional standards Archives - OF DIGITAL INTEREST

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
Reimbursement requirements
Professional standards

A CLOSER LOOK

Finalized Legislation & Rulemaking

West Virginia enacted SB 522, which specifies that an emergency medical services agency may triage and transport a patient to a destination other than a hospital, dialysis center, skilled nursing facility or residence within the state or treat the patient in place if the ambulance service is coordinating the care of the patient through medical command or telehealth services. The bill also requires insurance plans to provide coverage for those services. SB 522 further requires the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services to establish related protocols by October 1, 2024.
West Virginia also enacted rulemaking pertaining to the practice of medical imaging and radiation therapy technologists. The rulemaking includes a provision stating that telehealth practice is inapplicable to the practice of a medical imaging and radiation therapy technologist.
Maine enacted LD 1965, which provides telehealth standards for optometrists, including requirements for establishing an optometrist-patient relationship via telemedicine. While the bill establishes new flexibilities to allow for telehealth and provides relevant practice standards and definitions for telehealth practice, it also includes limiting language requiring either an in-person visit or an established relationship with the patient.
- For example, an optometrist-patient relationship is established when an individual agrees to receive ocular or healthcare services from the licensee and there has been an in-person encounter between the licensee and the individual, unless the standard of care requires that an individual be seen without an in-person visit, such as in an emergent situation as reasonably determined by the licensee.
- The bill also provides a pathway for an optometrist-patient relationship in which a licensee who uses telehealth in providing care and a patient who receives telehealth services through consultation with another licensee or other healthcare provider and who has an established relationship agrees to participate in, or supervise, the patient’s care through telehealth.

Legislation & Rulemaking Activity in Proposal Phase

Highlights:

Three states – Kansas, Tennessee and Colorado – either introduced or progressed legislation relating to the Social Work Licensure Compact.
- In Kansas, SB 2484 passed both chambers.
- In Tennessee, HB 2405 also passed both chambers.
- In Colorado, SB 24-1002 passed the first chamber.
In Arizona, SB 1173 passed both chambers. If enacted, the bill would adopt the Counseling Compact.
In Mississippi, SB 2157 passed the second chamber. If enacted, the bill would adopt the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact.
In Tennessee, JB 2587 passed the second chamber. If enacted, the bill would revise the state’s insurance code to remove from the definition of “provider-based telemedicine” the requirement that [...]

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Trending in the past week:

Interstate compacts
Professional standards

A CLOSER LOOK

Finalized Legislation & Rulemaking

South Dakota enacted the Counseling Compact, making it the 33rd state to ratify the compact.
South Dakota also adopted HB 1029, which specifies that licensed hearing aid dispensers and audiologists can deliver services via telehealth provided they are of the same quality as services delivered face-to-face.
In Texas, the Commission of Licensing and Regulation adopted rules that reorganize and revise telehealth standards for behavioral analysts. The changes include better aligning the telehealth practice standards with those for other professions regulated by the Department of Licensing and Regulation. Similarly, the Commission of Licensing and Regulation adopted a rule addressing supervision for behavioral analysts, which includes provisions addressing supervision via telehealth.

Legislation & Rulemaking Activity in Proposal Phase

Highlights:

In Arizona, SB 1036 passed the first chamber. If enacted, the bill would enact the Social Work Licensure Compact.
In Florida, SB 7016 passed both chambers. If enacted, the bill would enter Florida into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
In Louisiana, the Behavior Analyst Board proposed rules governing behavioral analyst practice, including establishing telehealth practice standards.
In Oklahoma, the Board of Examiners in Optometry proposed rule 505:10-5-19 that would address telemedicine practice by optometrists and, among other things, prohibit an optometrist from prescribing contact lenses or spectacles via a telemedicine encounter. The rule would also establish requirements for informed consent and practice requirements associated with a telemedicine visit.
In Tennessee, SB 2134 and HB 2405 each passed one chamber. If enacted, the bills would enact the Social Work Licensure Compact.
In Utah, SB 24 passed both chambers. If enacted, the bill would require Medicaid reimbursement for telepsychiatric consultations between a physician assistant and a psychiatrist. The law currently requires reimbursement only for telepsychiatric consultations between a physician and a psychiatrist.
In Virginia, HB 326 passed the first chamber. If enacted, the bill would enter Virginia into the Counseling Compact.
In West Virginia, HB 4110 passed the first chamber. If enacted, the bill would authorize the state’s Board of Licensed Dietitians to promulgate a legislative rule relating to telehealth practice, requirements and definitions.
In Wisconsin, SB 158 passed both chambers and awaits the governor’s signature. If enacted, the bill would enact the Social Work Licensure Compact.

Why it matters:

States continue to increase activity surrounding licensure compacts for a variety of health professionals. These state efforts ease the burdens of the licensing process and demonstrate a desire to facilitate multijurisdictional practice without giving up [...]

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