The Idaho legislature passed several bills impacting Idaho physicians. For a complete list of new healthcare laws, please see the Idaho Medical Association advocacy page. All laws are effective July 1, 2023 unless otherwise noted. Telehealth/Virtual Care Virtual Care Access Act (H 162): This Act clarifies virtual care practice requirements and addresses requirements for out-of-state providers treating patients via virtual care while the patient is located in Idaho. Mental, behavioral telehealth (H 61): House Bill 61 provides that a licensed mental or behavioral health provider who is not licensed in Idaho may provide telehealth services to an Idaho resident or...
Anyone who has watched much American television knows that a hospital emergency department (ED) is filled with “crisis mode” scenes of traumatically injured patients (usually) being saved within 59 minutes of the opening credits. Anyone who has been a patient or provider in an American ED might wish to quibble with those depictions. According to the National Center for Health Care statistics, there were 131 million ED visits, or 40 for every 100 Americans, in 2020. More than two-thirds (71%) of those ED visits were for reasons other than injury. In addition to the sheer volume of visits is the...
DEA Extends COVID Telemedicine Prescribing Rules for Controlled Substances
UPDATE: DEA and HHS Extend Telemedicine Flexibilities through 2024 October 9, 2023 Statement from the DEA on Telemedicine Flexibilities deadline: "We continue to carefully consider the input received and are working to promulgate a final set of telemedicine regulations by the fall of 2024, giving patients and medical practitioners time to plan for, and adapt to, the new rules once issued. Accordingly, DEA, jointly with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has extended current telemedicine flexibilities through December 31, 2024. The full text of the extension, entitled “Second Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled...
DEA Announces Proposed Telemedicine Rule Change for Controlled Substances
On 2/24/23 the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced a proposal for permanent rule changes to the Ryan Haight Act that will allow for the prescription of controlled substances through telemedicine, under certain circumstances, after the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) expires on May 11, 2023. The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 requires prescribers conduct an in-person examination to evaluate each patient at least once before prescribing a controlled substance, even if a patient has already been taking the medication in question. During the PHE, the in-person requirement was changed to allow prescribers to perform...
Nurse Practitioner Expanded Scope of Practice in California
Beginning in 2023, certified nurse practitioners can apply to practice independently in California. Assembly Bill 890, which was signed into law in September 2020, went into effect on 1/1/23. The law created two new categories of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) that can function within a defined scope of practice without standardized procedures. The California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN)recently released the application on February 2nd, so nurse practitioners are now able to apply for expanded scope of practice. The two new Nurse Practitioner categories and their requirements are as follows: 103 NP Works under the provisions outlined in Business and Profession Code...