§ 2805-U — Credentialing and privileging of health care practitioners providing telemedicine services

§ 2805-u. Credentialing and privileging of health care practitioners\nproviding telemedicine services. 1. For purposes of this section:\n (a) "Distant site hospital" means a hospital licensed pursuant to this\narticle or a hospital licensed by another state, that has entered into\nan agreement with an originating hospital to make available one or more\nhealth care practitioners that are members of its clinical staff to the\noriginating hospital for the purposes of providing telemedicine\nservices. To qualify as a distant site hospital for purposes of this\narticle, a hospital licensed by another state must comply with the\nfederal regulations governing participation by hospitals in Medicare.\n (b) "Health care practitioner" shall mean a person licensed pursuant\nto article one hundred thirty-one, one hundred thirty-one-B, one hundred\nthirty-three, one hundred thirty-nine, one hundred forty, one hundred\nforty-one, one hundred forty-three, one hundred forty-four, one hundred\nfifty-three, one hundred fifty-four or one hundred fifty-nine of the\neducation law, or as otherwise authorized by the commissioner.\n (c) "Originating hospital" means the hospital at which a patient is\nlocated at the time telemedicine services are provided to him or her.\n (d) "Telemedicine" means the delivery of clinical health care services\nby means of real time two-way electronic audio-visual communications\nwhich facilitate the assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment,\neducation, care management and self management of a patient's health\ncare while such patient is at the originating site and the health care\nprovider is at a distant site.\n 2. When telemedicine services are provided to an originating\nhospital's patients pursuant to an agreement with a distant site\nhospital, the originating hospital may, in lieu of satisfying the\nrequirements set forth in section twenty-eight hundred five-k of this\narticle, rely on the credentialing and privileging decisions made by the\ndistant site hospital in granting or renewing privileges to a health\ncare practitioner who is a member of the clinical staff of the distant\nsite hospital, provided that:\n (a) the distant site hospital participates in Medicare and Medicaid;\n (b) each health care practitioner providing telemedicine is licensed\nto practice in this state;\n (c) the distant site hospital, in accordance with requirements\notherwise applicable to that hospital, collects and evaluates all\ncredentialing information concerning each health care practitioner\nproviding telemedicine services, performs all required verification\nactivities, and acts on behalf of the originating site hospital for such\ncredentialing purposes;\n (d) the distant site hospital reviews periodically, at least every two\nyears, and as otherwise warranted based on outcomes, complaints or other\ncircumstances, the credentials, privileges, physical and mental\ncapacity, and competence in delivering health care services of each\nhealth care practitioner providing telemedicine services, consistent\nwith requirements otherwise applicable to that hospital; reports the\nresults of such review to the originating hospital; and notifies the\noriginating hospital immediately upon any suspension, revocation, or\nlimitation of such privileges;\n (e) with respect to each distant site health care practitioner who\nholds privileges at the originating hospital, the originating hospital\nconducts a periodic internal review, at least every two years, of the\ndistant site practitioner's performance of these privileges and provides\nthe distant site hospital with such performance information for use in\nthe distant hospital's periodic appraisal of the distant site physician\nor health care practitioner. Such information shall include, at a\nminimum, all adverse events that result from the telemedicine services\nprovided by the distant site health care practitioner to the originating\nhospital's patients, all complaints the originating hospital has\nreceived about the distant site practitioner, and any revocation,\nsuspension or limitation of the distant site practitioner's privileges\nby the originating hospital; and\n (f) the agreement entered into between the originating site hospital\nand distant site hospital shall be in writing and shall, at a minimum:\n (i) provide the categories of health care practitioners that are\neligible candidates for appointment to the originating hospital's\nclinical staff,\n (ii) require the governing body of the distant site hospital to comply\nwith the Medicare conditions of participation governing the appointment\nof medical staff with regard to the health care practitioners providing\ntelemedicine services,\n (iii) itemize the credentialing information to be collected and the\nrequired verification activities to be performed by the distant site\nhospital and relied upon by the originating hospital in considering the\nrecommendations of the distant site hospital,\n (iv) require each distant site health care practitioner providing\ntelemedicine services to be licensed to practice in this state and\nprivileged at the distant site hospital,\n (v) require the distant site hospital to provide to the originating\nhospital a current list of each distant site health care practitioner's\nprivileges at the distant site hospital, and\n (vi) require the distant site hospital to conduct a periodic review\nconsistent with requirements otherwise applicable to that hospital, at\nleast every two years, and as otherwise warranted based on outcomes,\ncomplaints or other circumstances, the credentials, privileges, physical\nand mental capacity, and competence in delivering health care services\nof each health care practitioner providing telemedicine services; to\nprovide the originating hospital with the results of such review; and to\nnotify the originating hospital immediately upon any suspension,\nrevocation, or limitation of such privileges.\n 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed as allowing an\noriginating hospital to delegate its authority over and responsibility\nfor decisions concerning the credentialing and granting staff membership\nor professional privileges to health care practitioners providing\ntelemedicine services.\n 4. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, an originating\nhospital shall not be required to provide a physical examination or to\nmaintain recorded medical history including immunizations for a health\ncare provider providing consultations solely through telemedicine from a\ndistant site hospital.\n