{"id":4759,"date":"2017-09-21T01:59:41","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T01:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tele.healthcare\/?p=4759"},"modified":"2017-09-21T01:59:41","modified_gmt":"2017-09-21T01:59:41","slug":"telehealth-telemedicine-guidelines-gain-momentum-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drmiltie.com\/at-home-testing\/telehealth-telemedicine-guidelines-gain-momentum-in-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Telehealth, Telemedicine Guidelines Gain Momentum in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

The State of Florida start push for reimbursement parity for services provided via teleheath!<\/p>\n

September 21, 2017 by Eric Wicklund<\/p>\n

Florida’s Telehealth Advisory Council has issued a draft report on telehealth policy for the state, at the same time that a bill is introduced to turn many of those recommendations into law.<\/p>\n

One of the last states to formally establish a telehealth policy has been busy this month.<\/p>\n

The Florida Telehealth Advisory Council, created by the state\u2019s Legislature in March 2016<\/a>, has put together a draft report that, among other things, defines \u201ctelehealth,\u201d establishes payment and coverage conditions for payers and encourages asynchronous (store and forward) telehealth and remote patient monitoring under the state\u2019s Medicaid program.<\/p>\n

That report, unveiled at the council\u2019s Sept. 19 meeting<\/a>, follows by five days a bill filed by State Sen. Aaron Bean<\/a> that would turn most of those recommendations into state law.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is imperative that the State of Florida moves forward in setting the framework for telehealth so that patients can begin utilizing this new technology,\u201d Bean said in a press release issued on Sept. 20, one day after the advisory council\u2019s meeting. \u201cThis bill is a good starting point and includes recommendations from the Telehealth Task Force that was established during the 2016 Legislative Session to review this important issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The advisory council, which is due to issue recommendations to the state by Oct. 31, drafted its report after a series of 10 public meetings, presentations from some 30 state and national telehealth experts (including the American Telemedicine Association and Center for Connected Health Policy) and a statewide survey conducted late last year that showed strong support for telehealth and telemedicine.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> What Telemedicine, Telehealth Resource Centers Offer to Providers<\/a><\/p>\n

The council\u2019s recommendations include a formal definition for telehealth \u2013 the group notes there are several definitions for telemedicine in state regulations but nothing to define what\u2019s consider a more encompassing term for the technology. The definition, the board said, would include six components:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Telehealth can be used for providing health care and public health services.<\/li>\n
  2. Telehealth includes synchronous and asynchronous modalities.<\/li>\n
  3. Practitioners treating Florida patients must be appropriately licensed in Florida or appropriately supervised by a licensed Florida healthcare practitioner as prescribed by law or rule.<\/li>\n
  4. Healthcare practitioners must treat within the scope of their practice.<\/li>\n
  5. Telehealth can be healthcare practitioner to healthcare practitioner or healthcare practitioner to patient.<\/li>\n
  6. There must be no limitations on geographic or site locations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The council then went about defining telehealth as \u201cthe mode of providing health care and public health services through synchronous and asynchronous information and communication technology by a Florida licensed healthcare practitioner, within the scope of their practice, who is located at a site other than the site where a recipient (patient or licensed healthcare practitioner) is located.\u201d<\/p>\n

    In other issues, the council recommends that all state-licensed health plans (excluding Medicare) provider coverage parity for telehealth, while those plans must also offer reimbursement for covered services provided via telehealth.<\/p>\n

    The legislation wouldn\u2019t force insurers to adopt new service lines or specialties, mandate fee-for-service arrangements or hinder value-based payment programs, and it would allow those insurers to negotiate telehealth-friendly contracts with providers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe Council members have emphasized the importance of establishing a clear distinction between telehealth insurance coverage parity and reimbursement parity,\u201d the council wrote in its draft report. \u201cThe Council recognizes telehealth coverage parity as a requirement of health plans to include benefits for services provided via telehealth, when possible and appropriate, to the same extent the plan covers the same services provided in-person. Coverage parity is silent regarding the amount of payment for telehealth services. The Council recognizes telehealth reimbursement parity as a requirement of health plans to pay healthcare facilities and practitioners for covered telehealth services at an equivalent rate as the in-person reimbursement for the same service.\u201d<\/p>\n

    READ MORE:<\/strong> Examining the Rocky Road to Telehealth Parity<\/a><\/p>\n

    In terms of Medicare coverage, the council recommends that the state \u201csupport modifications to Medicare\u00a0telehealth laws that would expand coverage to include remote patient monitoring<\/a> as well as\u00a0store and forward modalities<\/a>; expand of the types of healthcare practitioners covered; and revise or eliminate the existing geographic and place of service requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

    With Medicaid, the council is asking the state to include coverage of store-and-forward and remote patient monitoring services, alongside current coverage for live video conferencing.<\/p>\n

    Among other issues, the council recommends:<\/p>\n