BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 809
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 809 (Logue)
As Amended April 29, 2013
2/3 vote. Urgency
HEALTH 15-0 BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 12-0
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|Ayes:|Pan, Logue, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Gordon, Jones, Bocanegra, |
| |Atkins, Bonilla, Bonta, | |Campos, Dickinson, |
| |Chesbro, Maienschein, | |Eggman, Hagman, |
| |Mansoor, Mitchell, | |Maienschein, Mullin, |
| |Nazarian, Nestande, | |Skinner, Ting, Wilk |
| |V. Manuel P�rez, Wagner, | | |
| |Wilk | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires prior to the delivery of health care via
telehealth, the health care provider initiating the use of
telehealth at the originating site to verbally inform the
patient about the use of telehealth and request the patient's
verbal consent, which may apply in the present instance and for
any subsequent use of telehealth. Provides that nothing in this
bill precludes a patient from receiving in-person health care
delivery services during a course of treatment after agreeing to
receive services via telehealth.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines telehealth as the mode of delivering health care
services and public health via information and communication
technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation,
treatment, education, care management, and self-management of
a patient's health care while the patient is at the
originating site and the health care provider is at a distant
site. Telehealth facilitates patient self-management and
caregiver support for patients and includes synchronous
interactions and asynchronous store and forward transfers.
2)Requires prior to the delivery of health care via telehealth,
the health care provider at the originating site to verbally
inform the patient that telehealth may be used and obtain
verbal consent from the patient for this use. Requires the
verbal consent to be documented in the patient's medical
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record.
3)States that all laws regarding the confidentiality of health
care information and a patient's rights to his or her medical
information apply to telehealth interactions.
4)Exempts a patient under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation or any other correctional
facility.
5)States notwithstanding any other provision of law and for
purposes of 1) through 4) above that the governing body of the
hospital, whose patients are receiving the telehealth
services, may grant privileges to and verify and approve
credentials for providers of telehealth services based on its
medical staff recommendations that rely on information
provided by the distant-site hospital or telehealth entity, as
described in federal regulations. States legislative intent
to authorize a hospital to grant privileges to and verify and
approve credentials for providers of telehealth.
6)States that "telehealth" includes "telemedicine," as
specified.
7)Makes the failure of a health care provider to comply with 1)
through 6) above unprofessional conduct.
8)Provides that 1) through 7) above shall not be construed to
alter the scope of practice of any health care provider or
authorize the delivery of health care services in a setting or
in a manner not otherwise authorized by law.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill would address a
problem in existing law amended by AB 415 (Logue), Chapter 547,
Statutes of 2011, the Telemedicine Advancement Act of 2011. The
author states that AB 415 replaced and updated the outdated
terminology of "telemedicine" with "telehealth," to reflect the
current use of telehealth in California's healthcare system,
providing a broader range of services than contained in the
outdated 1996 model statute. Under AB 415, in order to ensure
that both physicians and patients understood that telehealth may
be used to treat a patient, a physician is required to obtain
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verbal consent for each and every visit with the patient.
Within a year after implementation, physicians have reported
that this constant requirement is onerous and burdensome on
their ability to treat patients efficiently. This bill will
allow the first instance of consent to serve as consent for
subsequent telehealth uses.
The California Association of Physician Groups supports this
bill because telehealth is a critical component of the strategy
to expand access to health care across California and this
provides important clean-up provisions to help this technology
come into its own. The Association of California Healthcare
Districts states that eliminating the need for health care
workers to obtain oral consent to receive telehealth services
during every visit, allows a patient to be comfortable with the
standard, that telehealth may be used when receiving health care
services.
Analysis Prepared by : Teri Boughton / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0000405