Opinion: Rapid expansion of telehealth comes with new challenges

It’s a boom time for telehealth. State and federal policies governing this new way to deliver medical care have helped expand access to it, while increasingly favorable regulatory changes are remaking the landscape for digital health companies hoping to revolutionize the field of medicine.

Yet this greater opportunity is accompanied by greater regulatory risk, especially with the significant state-to-state variation in laws governing telehealth and the nuanced interplay between state regulations and federal policies.

Policies around delivery, credentialing of providers, and informed consent offer insights into the complex and evolving telehealth landscape.

Challenges paying for telehealth

Telehealth has evolved dramatically from the first modality used for it — the telephone. The proliferation of new delivery methods enables providers to better tailor their care to patients’ unique needs and to increase patient autonomy and control. Unfortunately, state and federal policies about reimbursing clinicians for providing care via telehealth continue to vary widely, which is inhibiting its full potential.

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