News Feature | September 1, 2015

VARS: Does The Definition Of "Telehealth" Change Depending On Which State You're In?

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

Mobile Health

What, exactly, is “telehealth”?

This report from the Center For Connected Health Policy (CCHPCA) addresses that and other questions around the emerging technology, and emphasizes issues caused by variations between states in defining “telehealth.”

An Issue Of Definition

The report makes sure to point out that states across the country alternate in their use of the terms “telemedicine and “telehealth.” Some explicitly define both in law and/or regulations and policy. For others, “telehealth” is used as a broader definition and “telemedicine” defines delivery of clinical services.

Beyond that, some states add restrictions around the definitions, specifically excluding phone, email, and/or fax communications. Rhode Island and New Jersey are the only states that still lack a legal definition for both terms with the remaining 48 and the District Of Columbia having definitions in either law, regulation, or their Medicaid programs.

Gaining Some Clarity

The report begins with a state-by-state breakdown of:

  • The definition of both “telehealth” and “telemedicine”
  • Their reimbursement policies around live video and store-and-forward
  • Approaches to e-prescribing
  • General laws and regulations
  • Information on consent, cross-state licensing, and other information
  • Medicaid specifics

Trends In Telehealth

According to CCHPCA, even with the wide variations between states, some trends are emerging. For example, live video Medicaid reimbursement well exceeds store-and-forward, and remote patient monitoring reimbursement.

The number of states offering reimbursement for remote patient monitoring jumped from ten to sixteen between 2013 and July 2015. Additionally, 47 states and Washington D.C.’s Medicaid programs currently reimburse for some form of live video, a number that’s up from 44 last year. Since July 2014 South Dakota has been the only state to cease reimbursement for store-and-forward from their Medicaid program, dropping the number of states that offer reimbursement for the service to nine.

Meanwhile, according to the Denver Business Journal, Colorado Medical board members are pushing the state to enact new laws around telehealth by adopting more expansive guidelines. These new guidelines do away with many of the limits imposed by other states and include:

  • Not requiring patients to meet doctors in-person before accessing telehealth services
  • Remaining technology agnostic
  • Not requiring patients to be in a specific facility to conduct visits.

More information on this topic is available at the CCHPCA’s website, http://cchpca.org/.