Telehealth New Laws

Washington State Department of Health sent this bulletin at 08/16/2024 09:52 AM PDT

2024 TELEHEALTH PASSED LEGISLATIVE BILLS

Two new telehealth bills passed the 2024 legislative session: Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5481 and Senate Bill (SB) 5821.  Links to the session laws are included as the online version of the RCW will not be updated until early fall.

  • ESSB 5481 establishes uniform standards for providing telehealth services to patients in Washington state, outlines the conditions telehealth services are authorized, and which regulated professionals may provide services via telehealth. The bill also impacts the Washington State Telehealth Collaborative. No rule-making is needed for ESSB 5481.
  • SB 5821 addresses audio-only telehealth and establishes uniform standards for providing audio-only telehealth services to patients in Washington state. It also changes the requirement to have an in-person or real-time interactive appointment (utilizing video and audio) from every two years to three years.  The department will update the rules for in-home service providers that reference the two year requirement; no other rule-making is needed for SB 5821.

TELEHEALTH OVERVIEW

A health care practitioner may provide telehealth services to a patient located in Washington state if the services are consistent with the health care practitioner's scope of practice in Washington state, applicable professional practice standards in Washington state, and requirements and limitations of federal law and Washington state laws. A practitioner-patient relationship may be established through telehealth, but may not be established through email, instant messaging, text messaging, or faxes.

MORE TELEHELATH INFORMATION

More telehealth information from the Office of Health Professions is available here.

The Department of Health has more information on telehealth (including insurance coverage and federal resources) for health providers, public health professionals, and other interested parties available here.

More questions?  Reach out to the board, commission, or program manager for your profession.