“Telehealth Trends” focuses on state legislative and regulatory developments that impact healthcare providers, telehealth and digital health companies, pharmacists and technology companies involved in delivering and facilitating virtual care.
Past week trends:
Interstate Compact Professional Standards
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Final legislation and rulemaking:
In Florida, the Governor signed H 7021, which amends the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Act. The change allows individuals to receive treatment via telehealth if law enforcement officials determine a mandatory examination is necessary. Colorado enacted SB 24-141, which allows health care regulatory agencies to create a telehealth registration process for out-of-state providers. Regulatory agencies must create a registration process, but only if applicants (i) hold an unencumbered out-of-state certification issued by another state that has education and supervision standards equal to or exceeding Colorado's standards or that holds an interstate compact license, (ii) have a service representative in Colorado, (iii) have not been disciplined in the past five years, and (iv) have passed a jurisprudence exam.
Proposed Legislative and Rulemaking Activities:
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Rhode Island continued its very active week of compact-related bills passing. If signed by the Governor, Rhode Island would join the following compacts: Social Work Licensure Compact (SB 2184) Counseling Compact (SB 2183) Speech-Language-Pathology Interstate Compact (SB 2173) Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact (SB 2623) The Ohio Senate also passed SB 28, which would join the state to the Pennsylvania Licensure Compact. Arizona's bill, SB 1036, would establish a social work compact and is headed to the Governor's desk. Arizona also passed SB 1267 in both houses, which would revise supervision requirements for physical therapist assistants and allow for telehealth supervision. The Delaware Senate passed SB 301. The bill would require public universities to provide access to abortion pills and emergency contraception, including requiring them to accommodate students' requests for telehealth appointments if their student health centers are not equipped or staffed to provide the medications.
Why is this important:
Interstate compacts continue to expand. Telehealth-related legislation and rulemaking was relatively slow this week, with the exception of interstate compact registrations. States continue to pass compact-related legislation, with Rhode Island leading the way with four bills passed in both houses this week. Additionally, as we saw last week, states are amending statutes and regulations to accommodate compact providers. This is seen in Colorado's new telehealth registration under SB 24-141. The final version was amended from the original bill text to include compact providers. Telehealth plays a key role in program guidance. States continue to amend rules and statutes related to various health care programs to account for the use of telehealth. Ohio's recently passed rule on home services clearly outlines the differences in documentation required for telehealth or virtual visits. Delaware's pending bill, SB 301, also leverages telehealth when certain services cannot be accommodated by certain health care providers, expanding access to certain specialty care. In this case, medical abortions at public universities. As states work on telehealth-based solutions, they are shifting to put technology first when drafting new health programs, rather than revising regulations to catch up.
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