Telemedicine is the delivery of health care services through the use of interactive audio and video technology, permitting real-time communication between the patient at the originating site and the provider, for the purpose of diagnosis, consultation, or treatment. A telemedicine visit is considered to take place at the patient location, known as the originating site. An originating site for telemedicine includes a hospital, rural health clinic, federally qualified health center, health care provider's office, community mental health center, skilled nursing center, renal dialysis center, or a home.
The Department of Health (DOH) licenses and certifies health care professionals in a variety of fields. Licensure or certification may entail the adoption of rules, verification of educational attainment and completion of supervised training, completion of a background check and verification of good character requirements, administration of a knowledge or practical skills examination, and collection of license or certification fees. The Uniform Disciplinary Act (UDA) provides laws governing the conduct and discipline of license and certification holders, with DOH, or a board or commission within DOH, acting as the disciplining authority.
Practice Authorization. An out-of-state health care provider may provide telemedicine services to a patient located in Washington if the out-of-state health care practitioner is registered with the Washington disciplining authority responsible for licensing or certifying health care providers who provide the type of health care the out-of-state health care provider provides.
The disciplining authority must issue a registration to the out-of-state provider if the provider:
A registered out-of-state provider must renew their registration at the same frequency the disciplining authority requires for a provider licensed to practice in this state.
A registered out-of-state provider must provide the telemedicine services in compliance with the professional practice standards applicable to a health care provider who provides comparable in-person health care in this state.
A registered out-of-state provider may not open an office physically located in this state, or provide in-person health care to a patient located in this state.
Disciplinary Action. The disciplining authority may take disciplinary action against a registered out-of-state provider who:
A disciplining authority may take any disciplinary action that it is authorized to take against a provider licensed in this state. Disciplinary action includes suspension or revocation of the out-of-state provider's registration.
A registered out-of-state provider must notify the disciplining authority no later than ten days after a disciplining authority in another state notifies the provider it has initiated an investigation, placed a restriction on the provider's license or certification, or taken disciplinary action against the provider.