Legislatures in West Virginia, Missouri and Washington state continue to work to help regulation catch up with telemedicine.
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin recently signed into law telemedicine practice standards and remote prescribing rules. The new statute might require the state's Board of Medicine to rewrite some of its rules, reports Health Care Law Today.
West Virginia requires in-state licensure, but allows for informal out-of-state consults or second opinions as long at the licensed physician remains primary. It also requires a pre-established relationship with the provider, though the relationship can be formed via a phone call or an email. Remote prescribing without a prior in-person exam is permitted, though not for pain-relieving controlled substances.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee also recently signed new telemedicine legislation, according to JD Supra Business Advisor.
That bill creates a "collaborative for the advancement of telemedicine" in which industry leaders must identify and recommend best practices for the state. It relaxes certain regulatory standards, including applying the Washington telemedicine parity law to services provided to patients in their homes. It also applies the parity law to telemedicine services that are safe and effective, and that can be provided in a manner consistent with generally accepted healthcare practices and standards.
Meanwhile, the Missouri state House passed a bill to define that a doctor can provide services through videoconferencing or by the electronic transfer of a patient's medical records and other data. It also allows Medicaid reimbursements for telemedicine services, according to Missourinet.
A similar bill passed out of the House last year but did not reach the full Senate.
The Federal Trade Commission recently backed a bill in the Alaska Senate allowing doctors licensed in the state who live elsewhere to treat patients remotely without a prior physical examination.
Proposed rules for the District of Columbia require a physician to be licensed in the state of the patient's location as well as the doctor's location.
To learn more:
- read the Health Care Law Today article
- read the JD Supra post
- here's the Missouri story