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A09834 Summary:

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A09834 Floor Votes:

A09834 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
            S. 6970                                                  A. 9834
 
                SENATE - ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 18, 2012
                                       ___________
 
        IN  SENATE -- Introduced by Sens. YOUNG, BRESLIN, O'MARA, RITCHIE, VALE-
          SKY -- (at request of the Legislative Commission on  Rural  Resources)
          -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
          the Committee on Health
 
        IN  ASSEMBLY  -- Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER -- Multi-Sponsored by --

          M. of A. BURLING, LIFTON, PALMESANO -- read once and referred  to  the
          Committee on Health
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the public health law, in relation to the granting of
          hospital privileges to providers of telemedicine services
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  2805-u to read as follows:
     3    § 2805-u. Credentialing and privileging of health  care  practitioners
     4  providing telemedicine services. 1. For purposes of this section:
     5    (a) "Distant site hospital" means a hospital licensed pursuant to this
     6  article  or  a hospital licensed by another state, that has entered into
     7  an agreement with an originating hospital to make available one or  more

     8  health  care practitioners that are members of its clinical staff to the
     9  originating  hospital  for  the  purposes  of   providing   telemedicine
    10  services.    To  qualify as a distant site hospital for purposes of this
    11  article, a hospital licensed by  another  state  must  comply  with  the
    12  federal regulations governing participation by hospitals in Medicare.
    13    (b)  "Health  care practitioner" shall mean a person licensed pursuant
    14  to article one hundred thirty-one, one hundred thirty-one-B, one hundred
    15  thirty-three, one hundred thirty-nine, one hundred  forty,  one  hundred
    16  forty-one,  one hundred forty-three, one hundred forty-four, one hundred
    17  fifty-three, one hundred fifty-four or one  hundred  fifty-nine  of  the

    18  education law, or as otherwise authorized by the commissioner.
    19    (c)  "Originating  hospital"  means the hospital at which a patient is
    20  located at the time telemedicine services are provided to him or her.
    21    (d) "Telemedicine" means the delivery of clinical health care services
    22  by means of real time  two-way  electronic  audio-visual  communications
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15253-02-2
        S. 6970                             2                            A. 9834
 
     1  which  facilitate  the  assessment,  diagnosis, consultation, treatment,

     2  education, care management and self management  of  a  patient's  health
     3  care  while  such patient is at the originating site and the health care
     4  provider is at a distant site.
     5    2.  When  telemedicine  services are provided to an originating hospi-
     6  tal's patients pursuant to an agreement with a  distant  site  hospital,
     7  the originating hospital may, in lieu of satisfying the requirements set
     8  forth  in  section  twenty-eight hundred five-k of this article, rely on
     9  the credentialing and privileging decisions made  by  the  distant  site
    10  hospital in granting or renewing privileges to a health care practition-
    11  er  who  is a member of the clinical staff of the distant site hospital,
    12  provided that:

    13    (a) the distant site hospital participates in Medicare and Medicaid;
    14    (b) each health care practitioner providing telemedicine  is  licensed
    15  to practice in this state;
    16    (c)  the distant site hospital, in accordance with requirements other-
    17  wise applicable to that hospital, collects and evaluates all credential-
    18  ing information concerning each health care practitioner providing tele-
    19  medicine services, performs all required  verification  activities,  and
    20  acts  on  behalf of the originating site hospital for such credentialing
    21  purposes;
    22    (d) the distant site hospital reviews periodically, at least every two
    23  years, and as otherwise warranted based on outcomes, complaints or other

    24  circumstances, the credentials, privileges, physical and mental  capaci-
    25  ty,  and  competence  in  delivering health care services of each health
    26  care  practitioner  providing  telemedicine  services,  consistent  with
    27  requirements  otherwise applicable to that hospital; reports the results
    28  of such review to the originating hospital; and notifies the originating
    29  hospital immediately upon any suspension, revocation, or  limitation  of
    30  such privileges;
    31    (e)  with  respect  to  each distant site health care practitioner who
    32  holds privileges at the originating hospital, the  originating  hospital
    33  conducts  a  periodic  internal review, at least every two years, of the
    34  distant site practitioner's performance of these privileges and provides

    35  the distant site hospital with such performance information for  use  in
    36  the  distant hospital's periodic appraisal of the distant site physician
    37  or health care practitioner. Such information shall include, at a  mini-
    38  mum,  all  adverse  events  that  result  from the telemedicine services
    39  provided by the distant site health care practitioner to the originating
    40  hospital's  patients,  all  complaints  the  originating  hospital   has
    41  received  about  the  distant  site  practitioner,  and  any revocation,
    42  suspension or limitation of the distant site  practitioner's  privileges
    43  by the originating hospital; and
    44    (f)  the  agreement entered into between the originating site hospital

    45  and distant site hospital shall be in writing and shall, at a minimum:
    46    (i) provide the categories  of  health  care  practitioners  that  are
    47  eligible  candidates for appointment to the originating hospital's clin-
    48  ical staff,
    49    (ii) require the governing body of the distant site hospital to comply
    50  with the Medicare conditions of participation governing the  appointment
    51  of  medical staff with regard to the health care practitioners providing
    52  telemedicine services,
    53    (iii) itemize the credentialing information to be  collected  and  the
    54  required  verification  activities  to  be performed by the distant site
    55  hospital and relied upon by the originating hospital in  considering the
    56  recommendations of the distant site hospital,

        S. 6970                             3                            A. 9834
 
     1    (iv) require each distant  site  health  care  practitioner  providing
     2  telemedicine services to be licensed to practice in this state and priv-
     3  ileged at the distant site hospital,
     4    (v)  require  the  distant site hospital to provide to the originating
     5  hospital a current list of each distant site health care  practitioner's
     6  privileges at the distant site hospital, and
     7    (vi)  require  the  distant site hospital to conduct a periodic review
     8  consistent with requirements otherwise applicable to that  hospital,  at
     9  least  every  two  years,  and as otherwise warranted based on outcomes,

    10  complaints or other circumstances, the credentials, privileges, physical
    11  and mental capacity, and competence in delivering health  care  services
    12  of  each  health  care  practitioner providing telemedicine services; to
    13  provide the originating hospital with the results of such review; and to
    14  notify the originating hospital immediately upon any suspension, revoca-
    15  tion, or limitation of such privileges.
    16    3. Nothing in this section shall be construed as allowing an originat-
    17  ing hospital to delegate its authority over and responsibility for deci-
    18  sions concerning the credentialing  and  granting  staff  membership  or
    19  professional privileges to health care practitioners providing telemedi-
    20  cine services.

    21    4.  Notwithstanding  any  contrary  provision  of  law, an originating
    22  hospital shall not be required to provide a physical examination  or  to
    23  maintain  recorded  medical history including immunizations for a health
    24  care provider providing consultations solely through telemedicine from a
    25  distant site hospital.
    26    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.