The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) www.ftc.gov Office of Policy Planning, Bureau of Economics and Bureau of Competition recently commented on certain telehealth provisions that have been included in Alaska’s Senate Bill 74 www.legis.state.ak.us. The FTC sent a letter to Representative Steve Thompson Co-Chair House Finance Committee, Alaska State Legislature, on March 25, 2016 supporting the legislation.
Provisions in SB 74 would allow licensed Alaska physicians located out-of-state to provide the same telehealth service as licensed State physicians’ located in-state are permitted. FTC staff want to see out-of-state as well as in-state Alaska licensees be able to provide telehealth services without an in-person examination.
Telehealth including services from out-of-state providers has long been a way to address health provider shortages since the state has a significant shortage of primary care and specialty physicians, including psychiatrists and non-physician behavioral health providers especially in rural Alaska where most areas are designated HPSAs.
The Indian Health Service www.ihs.gov and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) http://anthc.org routinely rely upon telehealth services to link community health aides at local clinics with distant primary care and specialty providers. ANTHC provides telehealth services through the Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network (AFHCAN) www.afhcan.org. .
SB 74 would allow certain Alaska-licensed behavioral health professions to provide services remotely. Although telemedicine is often used in Alaska to provide behavioral health services, under current Alaska laws and regulations there are no provisions specific to telehealth.
Behavioral health services to Alaskans, can be readily provided through video conferencing. The Indian Health Service Tele-Behavior Health Center of Excellence www.ihs.gov/telebehavioral relies on remote psychiatrists to provide services to patients at their clinics.
Another provider of mental health services, the Alaska Psychiatric Institute’s Telebehavioral Health Center http://dhss.alaska.gov/dbh/Pages/api?telepsychiatry.aspx also relies on telehealth to provide services to about 26 towns or villages most of which are not connected to the state’s road system. In addition, the state’s Department of Corrections has used video conferencing to facilitate counseling by psychiatrists and psychologists at prisoner facilities throughout the state.
The expansion of telehealth services provided by Alaska-licensed but out-of-state practitioners, could help to reduce costs for Alaska’s Medicaid and for Medicare. The bill also has provisions to help expand services from direct-to-consumer telehealth companies so that services can be provided to treat common minor conditions at a lower cost.