FTC Backs Alaska Telemedicine Bill
The FTC supported a telehealth bill in the Alaska legislature that would remove a requirement that physicians be located within the state. Telehealth provisions in SB-74 would allow licensed Alaska physicians located out of state to provide telehealth services in…
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the same way as in-state physicians, and would allow certain Alaska-licensed behavioral health professionals to provide services remotely. It would authorize regulations to establish a standard of care for physicians prescribing medications without a physical examination. The Alaska Senate passed SB-74 March 11; the House referred the bill to the Finance Committee March 14. Telehealth provisions in SB-74 would make "a procompetitive improvement in Alaska’s telehealth law,” the FTC said in a letter to state Rep. Steve Thompson, the Republican co-chairman of the House Finance Committee in the Alaska legislature. FTC Office of Policy Planning Director Marina Lao, Economics Bureau Director Ginger Zhe Jin and Competition Bureau Director Deborah Feinstein signed the letter. “These provisions would likely increase the supply of telehealth providers, enhance competition, and reduce health care costs, thereby benefiting Alaskans, especially underserved populations with limited access to health care,” the letter said. But the FTC said parts of the bill could discourage patients who are concerned about privacy. “While SB 74 might encourage greater use of telehealth by behavioral health professionals, its requirement that behavioral health professionals providing services remotely, unlike those providing services in person, share sensitive mental health records with a primary care provider could discourage its use for patients who wish to keep such records confidential,” the agency said. Also, a proposed requirement for special standards of care for remote health providers could hurt competition, it said. “A telehealth provider who has not made a physical examination is already subject to the state’s licensure requirements, including an obligation to meet the state’s existing standard of care. The development of additional ‘safeguards’ solely for telehealth providers might lead to the adoption of unnecessary restrictions that would only serve to restrict competition, and thereby undermine SB 74’s goal of enhancing access to telehealth services.” The FTC vote to issue the staff comment was 4-0.