| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 838 FILED ON: 1/17/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2254 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Smitty Pignatelli |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act reducing barriers to telehealth care. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Smitty Pignatelli3rd Berkshire1/17/2023Christopher Hendricks11th Bristol1/19/2023John Barrett, III1st Berkshire1/20/2023Bud L. Williams11th Hampden1/20/2023Josh S. Cutler6th Plymouth1/20/2023Rodney M. Elliott16th Middlesex1/25/2023Brian M. Ashe2nd Hampden1/30/2023Tricia Farley-Bouvier2nd Berkshire2/8/2023Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex2/17/2023 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 838 FILED ON: 1/17/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2254 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Pignatelli of Lenox, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2254) of |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | Smitty Pignatelli and others for legislation to further regulate healthcare services to a patient via |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | telehealth. Public Health. |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | An Act reducing barriers to telehealth care. |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 25O, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 3 Section 5O. (a) For purposes of this chapter “telehealth” shall mean the use of |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 4synchronous or asynchronous audio, video, electronic media or other telecommunications |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 5technology, including, but not limited to: (i) interactive audio-video technology; (ii) remote |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 6patient monitoring devices; (iii) audio-only telephone; and (iv) online adaptive interviews, for |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 7the purpose of evaluating, diagnosing, consulting, prescribing, treating or monitoring of a |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 8patient’s physical health, oral health, mental health or substance use disorder condition. |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 9 (b) A Physician licensed pursuant to this chapter may provide healthcare services to a |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 10patient via telehealth from any location within Massachusetts or outside Massachusetts, provided |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 11that the following conditions are met: (i) the patient is physically located in Massachusetts at the |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 12time the healthcare services are provided; (ii) the location from which the physician provides the 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 13services does not compromise patient confidentiality and privacy; and (iii) the location from |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 14which the physician provides the services does not exceed restrictions placed on the physician’s |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 15specific license, including but not limited to, restrictions set by the hospital, institution, clinic or |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 16program in which a physician licensed pursuant to section 9 of this chapter has been appointed. |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 17 (c) Health care services provided via telehealth shall conform to the standards of care |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 18applicable to services rendered in person and shall also conform to applicable federal and state |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 19health information privacy and security standards as well as standards for informed consent. |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 20 (d) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the board shall allow a |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 21physician licensed by the board to obtain proxy credentialing and privileging for telehealth |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 22services from other health care providers, as defined in section 1 of chapter 111, or facilities that |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 23comply with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ conditions of participation |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 24for telehealth services. |
|---|