50-State Survey: Telerehabilitation
The Center for Connected Health Policy recently pushed out another one of their helpful 50-state policy reviews, this time on physical and occupational therapy through virtual care. Published in the fall 2018 volume of the International Journal of Telerehabilitation, it offers a comprehensive survey of laws and regulations currently in effect regarding those specialities, organized by state. In their newsletter, CCHP summarized their results:
Some of the highlights from the results include:
- Forty-seven states had a telehealth-related policy for either occupational or physical therapy
- Twenty states had telehealth regulations for occupational therapy
- Twenty-four states had telehealth regulations for physical therapy
- Seventeen states had laws for occupational therapy
- Thirty-four states had laws for physical therapy
- Fourteen states allowed occupational therapists to use live video
- Twenty-five states allowed physical therapists to use live video
- Twelve states allowed for the use of store-and-forward for occupational and/or physical therapy
- Four states allowed for the use of remote patient monitoring for occupational and/or physical therapy
It seems, however, that while there is increasing acceptance and adoption of telemedicine in the allied health professions, there is still no “uniform approach” to the language or format when establishing state-mandated telehealth regulations. A growing need for standards is becoming apparent, as telehealth use becomes more common and widespread. Here’s hoping that 2019 will bring just that, along with more advances in state policy in order to enable providers to realize the full potential of this promising technology and use it to increase access to and improve quality of care.
To read the full article from the International Journal of Telerehabilitation, click here.
To learn how SimpleVisit can help your physical of occupational therapy practice offer telerehabilitation services, please visit our website or call 877-83-VISIT to speak to a sales agent today!
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