Amendment #34 to H4617

Telemedicine

Ms. Benson of Lunenburg moves to amend the bill by striking the text of Section 67 and inserting in place thereof the following: -

SECTION 67. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 53I the following new section:-

Section 53J. (a) For purposes of this section, “telemedicine” shall mean the use of interactive audio, video or other electronic media for diagnosis, consultation and treatment of a patient's physical, oral or mental health; provided however, that “telemedicine” shall not include audio-only telephone, facsimile machine, online questionnaires, texting or text-only email.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the department shall allow a physician or other practitioner consistent with Medicare conditions of participation telemedicine standards to obtain proxy credentialing and privileging for providing telemedicine services with other health care providers, as defined in section 1 of chapter 111 or with facilities consistent with said Medicare conditions of participation telemedicine standards.