BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 809
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 809 (Logue)
As Amended August 7, 2014
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(May 13, 2013) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 19, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: HEALTH
SUMMARY : Deletes a requirement that informed consent for
telehealth must be made by a provider at the originating site
where the patient is located, allows written consent to be
provided, rather than requiring consent to be verbal, and
clarifies that current telehealth law does not preclude a
patient from receiving in-person health care delivery services
after agreeing to receive services via telehealth. Contains an
urgency clause to ensure that the provisions of this bill go
into immediate effect upon enactment.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delete the requirement that the provider who obtains informed
consent be at the originating site.
2)Require the provider to obtain written or verbal consent,
rather than request verbal consent.
3)Delete a provision that allows a patient's consent to be used
in any subsequent instance
4)Delete a requirement that documentation of a patient's consent
be made in the patient's medical record (but retain the
requirement that consent be documented).
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
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site. States that 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
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill will revise the
existing consent requirements for the use of telehealth. Health
care providers will be able to acquire either verbal or written
consent for the initial use of treatment via telehealth and be
able to apply the consent to future uses of telehealth as well.
Furthermore, patients will be able to initiate treatment via
telehealth outside of the provider's facility and provide
consent as well. This will enable patients and providers to
take advantage of the increased opportunities in telehealth
provided by emerging technologies.
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. Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
states in support that this bill, by removing the requirement
that the health care provider initiating the use of telehealth
be physically at the originating site with the patient, will
allow the use of emerging technologies where patients
communicate directly with a distant provider and are not
physically present in a provider's office.
There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Russell / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
AB 809
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