,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cgej  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #ab1       
#bjac,ms4 ,matsui 7for herself and ,mr4 
,johnson of ,ohio7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce 
,a ,,bill  ,to promote the provision of 
telehealth by establishing a ,federal   
standard for telehealth1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,telehealth         
,modernization ,act of #bjac4  #b4      
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,telehealth technologies can      
transform health care delivery by       
improving access to quality care by     
removing traditional barriers to health 
care delivery such as distance1         
mobility1 and time constraints4  7#b7   
,telehealth is a mode of delivering     
health care utilizing information and   
communication technologies to enable the
 diagnosis1 consultation1 treatment1 and
 care management of patients by health  

care providers4  7#c7 ,the use of       
information and telecommunication       
technologies to deliver health care has 
the potential to reduce costs1 improve  
quality1 change conditions of practice1 
and improve access to health care1      
particularly in rural and medically     
underserved areas4  7#d7 ,a lack of     
primary care providers1 specialty       
providers1 and transportation continues 
to be a significant barrier to access to
 health care in medically underserved   
rural and urban areas4  7#e7 ,parts of  
the nation have difficulty attracting   
and retaining health professionals1 as  
well as supporting local health         
facilities to provide a continuum of    
health care4  7#f7 ,many health care    
providers in medically underserved areas
 are isolated from mentors1 colleagues1 
and the information resources necessary 
to support them personally and          
professionally4  7#g7 ,a patchwork of   
state regulatory environments poses     
legal and regulatory hurdles that are   

inhibiting the proliferation of         
private-sector telehealth innovations   
and have created significant uncertainty
 for the telehealth community4  7#h7 ,as
 of ,june #bjac1 #dj out of #ej states  
have introduced legislation addressing  
telehealth policy1 with wide variations 
in how telehealth is defined4  7#i7 ,to 
help clarify this uncertainty and       
provide ,states with appropriate        
guidance1 ,congress should provide a    
workable ,federal definition of         
telehealth that ensures the highest     
common denominator of care while        
facilitating future innovation4  7#aj7  
,the fundamental health care            
provider-patient relationship cannot    
only be preserved through a ,federal    
definition of telehealth1 but also can  
be established1 augmented1 and enhanced 
through the use of telehealth4  #c4     
,federal standard for telehealth  7a7   
,in general ,if a ,state authorizes a   
health care professional to deliver     
health care to an individual1 the ,state

 should also authorize the health care  
professional to deliver such health care
 to such individual through telehealth1 
subject to the conditions specified in  
subsection 7b74  7b7 ,conditions ,the   
following are conditions for the        
delivery of health care through         
telehealth by a health care professional
 to an individual that ,states should   
consider adopting3 7#a7 ,accessibility  
and review of medical history ,the      
health care professional should have    
access to the medical history of the    
individual1 and should review such      
medical history with the individual1 to 
the same extent that the health care    
professional would have access to such  
medical history and would review such   
medical history if delivering the health
 care in person4  7#b7 ,identification  
of underlying conditions and            
contraindications ,to the extent        
practicable1 the health care            
professional should attempt to identify 
the conditions underlying the symptoms1 

if any1 reported by the individual      
before such professional provides any   
diagnosis or treatment to the           
individual4 ,in the case that the health
 care professional recommends a         
treatment to the individual1 the health 
care professional should review with the
 individual the contraindications to the
 recommended treatment4  7#c7 ,diagnosis
 ,subject to the professional discretion
 of the health care professional1 such  
professional should have a conversation 
with the individual adequate to         
establish any diagnosis rendered4  7#d7 
,document evaluation1 medical records1  
and provision of medical information    
,the health care professional should    
document the evaluation and treatment   
delivered to the individual1 if any1 for
 the purpose of generating a medical    
record of the encounter4 ,at the option 
of the individual1 the health care      
professional should-- 7,a7 provide the  
individual with medical information1 in 
standard medical record format1 about   

such evaluation and treatment2 and  7,b7
 send any documentation concerning such 
evaluation and treatment to one or more 
selected health care professionals      
responsible for the care of the         
individual4  7#e7 ,transparency         
regarding professional credentials ,at  
the option of the individual1 the health
 care professional should provide to the
 individual1 in electronic and paper    
format1 information regarding the health
 care education1 certification1 and     
credentials of the health care          
professional4  7#f7 ,no assurance       
concerning items or services ,the health
 care professional should offer no      
assurance to the individual that any    
item or service1 including a            
prescription1 will be issued or         
provided-- 7,a7 in exchange for the     
payment of the consultation fee charged 
by the health care professional2 or     
7,b7 solely in response to the          
individual completing a form or         
questionnaire4  7#g7 ,prescription      

requirements ,any prescription issued by
 the health care professional as part of
 the health care delivered to the       
individual should meet the following    
requirements3 7,a7 ,the prescription is 
issued for a legitimate medical purpose 
in the usual course of professional     
practice4  7,b7 ,the prescription is    
issued by a health care professional who
 has obtained a medical history and     
conducted an evaluation of the          
individual to whom such prescription is 
issued adequate to establish a          
diagnosis4  7,c7 ,the prescription is   
not for a drug or substance in schedule 
,,ii1 ,,iii1 or ,,iv of section #bjb7;c7
 of the ,controlled ,substances ,act    
7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hab7;c774  7,d7 ,the    
prescription is filled by an            
appropriately licensed dispensing       
entity4  7c7 ,construction ,nothing in  
this section shall be construed to--    
7#a7 change the application of the      
,,hipaa privacy regulations 7as defined 
in section #aahj7;b77#c7 of the ,social 

,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4           
#acbj;d-#i7;b77#c777 with respect to a  
health care professional's provision of 
telehealth2 or  7#b7 affect the standard
 of care for medical or clinical        
appropriateness as established by ,state
 law or policy4  7d7 ,definitions ,for  
purposes of this section3 7#a7          
,telehealth ,the term telehealth means1 
with respect to health care that a      
health care professional is authorized  
to deliver to an individual in person   
under ,state law1 such health care      
delivered by such health care           
professional to such individual not in  
person1 from any location to any other  
location1 and by means of real-time     
video1 secure chat or secure email1 or  
integrated telephony4  7#b7 ,health care
 professional ,the term health care     
professional means1 with respect to     
health care1 a physician or practitioner
 who is authorized under law to deliver 
such health care in person4