Hospital Bylaw Addition for Scope of Telemedicine Physician Credentialing Using a streamlined process for credentialing and privileging
Telemedicine Physician Appointment Procedure using a streamlined process for credentialing and privileging
A telemedicine physician is defined as a “physician who is physically located at a distant site as defined by the Telemedicine Act, § 17-80-401 et seq., but who uses an electronic medium to perform an act that is part of a patient care service initiated in this state” (House Bill 1883, Line 23).
In accordance with Act 921 entitled An Act to Improve the Efficiency of Telemedicine Credentialing in the State of Arkansas; And for Other Purposes, Arkansas Code § 17-95-107 has been amended to restructure the telemedicine credentialing and privileging process to a streamlined process for credentialing and privileging for telemedicine service providers within the state of Arkansas.
Effective August 1, 2019, an Arkansas healthcare facility’s medical staff bylaws may be amended to include a subsection that will allow for a streamlined process for credentialing and privileging via acceptance of a Distant Site Hospital’s privilege verification of a physician seeking to provide telemedicine services by digital means.
- Qualifications for Telemedicine Staff Membership. Telemedicine staff consists of medical practitioners who practice outside of [HOSPITAL], but provide diagnostic or treatment services via telemedicine. Telemedicine staff must maintain active staff privileges at the distant site hospital and must maintain equivalent clinical privileges at this Distant Site Hospital as those requested at [HOSPITAL].
- Telemedicine Credentialing by Proxy. The Medical Staff of [HOSPITAL] has chosen to rely on the credentialing and privileging from a physician’s Distant Site Hospital if the distant site hospital is within the state of Arkansas and the [HOSPITAL] Governing Body has an agreement in place with the Distant Site Hospital for the provision of telemedicine services.
- Required Documentation. The Distant Site Hospital will provide a privilege verification letter which will include the telemedicine physician’s staff status and staff status dates. The requesting telemedicine physician must also provide proof of licensure recognized by the state in which [HOSPITAL] is located. The requesting telemedicine physician will also provide proof of current medical malpractice insurance.