House of Representatives Approve Internet Doctor Treatment
State Representative Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk), who represents Medfield, saw his proposal to ease Access and reduce medical costs pass the House this past week.
Editor's note: The following was submitted by the Dan Winslow Committee.
In a move that could revolutionize the delivery, access and cost of primary healthcare in Massachusetts, the House of Representatives approved a plan to allow doctors licensed anywhere in the United States to consult, diagnose and treat Massachusetts residents by internet video examinations.
"Telemedicine will allow qualified physicians to be immediately available 24/7 and as near as your computer or smartphone," said Medfield's State Representative Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk), who sponsored the legislation. "If approved by the Senate and signed by the Governor, this new technology will be a godsend to worried parents in the middle of the night, to seniors who are confined to home, to residents in rural areas who lack convenient access to primary care physicians, and to anyone who can't wait a few days or a week to obtain a prescription," said Winslow.
Under the plan as approved by the House, Massachusetts' Board of Registration of Medicine will develop and implement standards for a "telemedicine" license, for which physicians licensed in any state will be eligible to apply. Massachusetts is home to a number of high tech companies that are developing telemedicine technology, including Americanwell.com which provides more than 100 jobs.
Telemedicine can range from computer or smart phone consultation to high tech video booths at drugstores that include blood pressure and temperature sensors. Telemed doctors can expedite referrals to specialists and in person examinations when needed.
Sande Olson
1:49 pm on Saturday, June 16, 2012
KUDOS to Medfield's State Representative Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk)!
Dinesh
8:42 pm on Saturday, June 16, 2012
Focus should be not just acess and cost
Focus should be safety and quality and continuum of care
What about consult from international centers ov excellence
To solve the acess issue there needs to be innovative ideas of licensures for health care providers coming from overseas as well empowerments to nurse practitioners , physician assistants etc
Do not forget professionalism in medicine is face to face discussions and warm feelings not from telemedicine but side by side with family and friends
Any how good ideas for needed acess areas
Dinesh Patel
Justin Kahn
11:54 am on Monday, June 18, 2012
Dinesh is right. Telemedicine is not the total solution, rather it is a supplement to in-person consultations. The goal is not to solve health care, it is to solve health. Extending care into the home will hopefully drive down costs, and shift unnecessary care outside of the clinic.
Justin Kahn
TruClinic, LLC
e afari
7:04 am on Sunday, June 17, 2012
Congrats. We in dev sloping countries will learn from you
Sande Olson
10:52 am on Sunday, June 17, 2012
It should be noted that MA will still require some form of credentialing. Most states allow some form of telemedicine licensing. But until there is a national licensing/credentialing database or state license reciprocity, individual states will have to require a means of verifying credentials.
I am hoping MA's legislation will be a signal to other states, and to congress. We haven’t heard anything (since the January congressional briefing) on state medical licensing.
ATA notes that “Because the entrance requirements are the same, there is little, if any data to support a claim that licensed physicians or other health professional of one state are more or less qualified than those of any other state.”
I am hopeful that MA legislation will put a spotlight on telemedicine licensing and the need for national reciprocity. The credentialing process is lengthy and requires repetitive data collection (records of practice and peer letters) that causes processing delays… months.
The move to allow provider facility telemedicine physician credentialing to cover remote hospitals was one step. But that is not enough. There needs to be a collaborative credentialing source or reciprocity before telemedicine goes viral.
Anyone interested in removing medical licensure barriers can sign the petition to support the ATA in their efforts to promote state reciprocity at www.fixlicensure.org.
juli stockberger
9:38 am on Monday, June 18, 2012
How will this affect Medicare reimbursement, which requires providers of telemedicine to be in the same state as the patient in order to reimburse? Would it override the Medicare rule?
L Charles
10:50 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
I live in the UK, where there is a national health service (cradle to grave), and part of the developments in recent years has been a triage service called NHS Direct. This is a form of telemedicine, but it is mainly to either confirm that the patient should see their doctor directly, go to the Emergency Room or that they have nothing to worry about. Every time I have used the service it has been excellent, and normally it confirms that I need to see my GP (General Practitioner).
Telemedicine can't be a substitute for in person visits, especially when it comes to seeing what the patient looks like, their skin paller, eyes, are they sweating or how they are moving or sitting. it won't substitute for physical tests that must be done in person, because that is not possible. What if someone must get referred for a blood test or scan? What if they don't have adequate insurance? Why isn't the legislature doing something about the outrageous excess charges that are being perpetrated by insurance companies. A friend of mine has opted out of health insurance at work because the premiums are too expensive and the excess is $3500! My brother, who is an RN in Massachusetts told me his excess is $1000, and he is now being asked to pay for every medical test that is ordered by the doctor!! How can people afford this? Every time I hear a story like this I am grateful I currently live in the UK.
Hudson LEE
1:23 am on Thursday, August 23, 2012
Interesting comments and views. We have supplied web based (cloud) solutions to care provider doctors, clinics and hospitals through the years and this article I find interesting personally as it represents another evolutionary step where information technologies redefines care. One thing is for sure, things can only get better given time; in fact it is more like taking the trouble to understand what all this means and to get going. Cloud hospitals have no Servers within its premises (all at datacenters) and all their ambulances are (no additional cost) mobile wireless device connected to ERs, just to mention a few possibilities/paradigms. Saving a life a day earlier can be powerful motivators. Cheers Hudson LEE, eKlinik.com