What it Telehealth?
“Telehealth”—also called “Telemedicine”--refers to the electronic exchange of medical information through modalities such as video conferencing, e-mail and smart phones. California’s AB 415 or the “Telehealth Advancement Act of 2011,” defines “Telehealth” as “the mode of delivering health care services and public health via information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient’s health care while the patient is at the originating site and the health care provider is at the distant site.”
What Rules Apply to California Health Care Providers?
California addressed the obligations of health care providers in regard to telehealth services nearly 18 years ago through the "Telemedicine Development Act of 1996" which imposed several requirements governing the delivery of health care services through telehealth and amended portions of the California Business and Professions Code, including section 2290.5 which requires providers to verbally inform the patient that telehealth may be used and obtain verbal consent from the patient for this use. The verbal consent must be documented in the patient's medical record. The provider must also follow all existing laws concerning the confidentiality of health care information and a patient's rights to his or her medical information. The “Telehealth Advancement Act of 2011” expanded the definition of telehealth providers to include all licensed healthcare professionals.
What Rules Apply to California Hospitals?
AB 415 or the “Telehealth Advancement Act of 2011” simplified the credentialing and privileging of practitioners who provide telehealth services. Under the new rules, hospitals may rely on the credentialing and privileging decisions made by distant-site hospitals or the information provided by other telehealth entities when determining privileges for physicians who provide telehealth services. Such hospitals are exempt from conducting an independent review if certain conditions are met. For instance, the hospital must have an internal review process for evaluating telehealth practitioners.
What Rules Apply to California Health Care Service Plans?
The "Telemedicine Development Act of 1996" provides that no health care service plan contract that is issued, amended, or renewed, on and after January 1, 1997, shall require face-to-face contract between a health care provider and patient for services appropriately provided through telehealth, subject to all terms and conditions of the contract agreed upon. In addition, California is one of a handful of states that requires payors to provide reimbursement for certain telehealth services. The “Telehealth Advancement Act of 2011” requires health care service plans and health insurance companies to adopt payment policies to compensate providers who provide covered health care services through telehealth. This provision also applies to the Medi-Cal managed care program.