Foundation calls for telehealth mandate, fines for states that don't offer the service
Congress should adopt national telehealth regulations and penalize states that do not make telehealth accessible to providers and patients, according to a report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF).
The foundation specifically called for the passage of the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2013 (HR 3750), which was introduced by Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). The legislation would create a federal definition of telehealth and provide guidance for how states can regulate such technology.
The act also would require that providers using telehealth: document the evaluation and treatment given to the patient, and generate a medical record of the visit; have access to and review the medical history of the individual being treated; make no assurance to the patient regarding an outcome from the visit, including receiving a prescription; and offer diagnoses based on an adequate interactive conversation with the patient.
Providers using telehealth technology could only issue prescriptions for legitimate medical purposes, according to the bill which would prohibit the prescribing of controlled substances based on telehealth visits.
Upon passage of the legislation, ITIF suggests fines be imposed on states that do not adopt the new policies within a "reasonable period of time."
The foundation also expressed its support for increased use of telehealth technology, noting that adoption has been "disappointingly slow. Despite the widespread availability of the necessary technologies and significant interest among patients, most individuals in the U.S. do not have routine access to telehealth services because of state and federal laws prohibiting or curtailing its use.
That's partly due to different reimbursement policies for telehealth services among states. "Hospitals are more likely to adopt telehealth if they are in states requiring private payers to reimburse telehealth services at the same rate as in-person services," according to the report.
Read the entire report.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.