Public Health Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING TELEHEALTH PROVIDERS
SUMMARY: This act adds licensed speech and language pathologists, respiratory care practitioners, and audiologists to the list of health care providers authorized to provide health care services using telehealth. Under the act, they must provide telehealth services within their profession's scope of practice and standard of care, just as other telehealth providers must do under existing law.
The law already allows the following health care providers to provide health care services using telehealth: licensed physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants, occupational and physical therapists, naturopaths, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists, psychologists, marital and family therapists, clinical or master social workers, alcohol and drug counselors, professional counselors, and certified dietician-nutritionists.
Existing telehealth laws do not prohibit various licensed and certified health care providers (e. g. , physicians, chiropractors, dentists, and emergency medical services providers) from (1) providing on-call coverage for another provider, (2) consulting with another provider about a patient's care, or (3) issuing orders for hospital patients. The act expands the definition of “health care provider” to apply to all providers authorized to provide telehealth services, in addition to others specified in law.
By law, “telehealth” means delivering health care services through information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient's physical and mental health.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2016
OLR Tracking: ND; HP: PF: tjo