VA Telehealth Standards – Health Care Professionals Practicing Via Telehealth

By | August 22, 2022
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VA Telehealth Standards

From Federal Register 8/22

In Brief

  • grants VA health care providers the ability to provide telehealth services within their scope of practice, functional statement, and/or in accordance with privileges granted to them by VA, in any location, within any State, irrespective of the State or location within a State where the health care provider or the beneficiary is physically located.
  • VA-contracted health care professionals remain excluded from the definition of health care professional.
  • Verbal consent – propose to add a new rule, which would provide another example of a situation where a State license, registration, certification, or other State requirement may be inconsistent or conflict with VA policy. One example would be where a beneficiary has not provided VA with a signed written consent in order to receive health care via telehealth. This example is added because some States do not allow a health care professional to provide telehealth services to a beneficiary unless the beneficiary has signed a written consent form. VA regulations only require verbal consent for the provision of telehealth. Requiring signature consent would disadvantage beneficiaries who do not possess the technology or digital skills to complete a remote signature consent prior to their telehealth visits. This provision would allow for the provision of health care services via telehealth.

Excerpt

An unpublished Proposed Rule by the Veterans Affairs Department on 08/23/2022. This document is unpublished. It is scheduled to be published on 08/23/2022. Once it is published it will be available on this page in an official form. Until then, you can download the unpublished PDF version.

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its medical regulations that govern the VA health care professionals who practice health care via telehealth. This proposed rule would implement the authorities of the VA MISSION Act of 2018 and the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through www.Regulations.gov. Comments should indicate that they are submitted in response to [“RIN 2900-AQ59 – Health Care Professionals Practicing Via Telehealth.”] Comments received will be
available at regulations.gov for public viewing, inspection or copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Galpin, MD, Executive Director Telehealth Services, Veterans Health Administration Office of Connected Care, 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20420. (404) 771-8794. (This is not a tollfree number.) [email protected].

you can download the unpublished PDF version.

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