§ 2999-CC — Definitions

§ 2999-cc. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms\nshall have the following meanings:\n 1. "Distant site" means a site at which a telehealth provider is\nlocated while delivering health care services by means of telehealth.\nAny site within the United States or United States' territories is\neligible to be a distant site for delivery and payment purposes.\n 2. "Telehealth provider" means:\n (a) a physician licensed pursuant to article one hundred thirty-one of\nthe education law;\n (b) a physician assistant licensed pursuant to article one hundred\nthirty-one-B of the education law;\n (c) a dentist licensed pursuant to article one hundred thirty-three of\nthe education law;\n (d) a nurse practitioner licensed pursuant to article one hundred\nthirty-nine of the education law;\n (e) a registered professional nurse licensed pursuant to article one\nhundred thirty-nine of the education law only when such nurse is\nreceiving patient-specific health information or medical data at a\ndistant site by means of remote patient monitoring;\n (f) a podiatrist licensed pursuant to article one hundred forty-one of\nthe education law;\n (g) an optometrist licensed pursuant to article one hundred\nforty-three of the education law;\n (h) a psychologist licensed pursuant to article one hundred\nfifty-three of the education law;\n (i) a social worker licensed pursuant to article one hundred\nfifty-four of the education law;\n (j) a speech language pathologist or audiologist licensed pursuant to\narticle one hundred fifty-nine of the education law;\n (k) a midwife licensed pursuant to article one hundred forty of the\neducation law;\n (l) a physical therapist licensed pursuant to article one hundred\nthirty-six of the education law;\n (m) an occupational therapist licensed pursuant to article one hundred\nfifty-six of the education law;\n (n) a person who is certified as a diabetes educator by the National\nCertification Board for Diabetes Educators, or a successor national\ncertification board, or provided by such a professional who is\naffiliated with a program certified by the American Diabetes\nAssociation, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the Indian\nHealth Services, or any other national accreditation organization\napproved by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services;\n (o) a person who is certified as an asthma educator by the National\nAsthma Educator Certification Board, or a successor national\ncertification board;\n (p) a person who is certified as a genetic counselor by the American\nBoard of Genetic Counseling, or a successor national certification\nboard;\n (q) a hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of this chapter,\nincluding residential health care facilities serving special needs\npopulations;\n (r) a home care services agency as defined in article thirty-six of\nthis chapter;\n (s) a hospice as defined in article forty of this chapter;\n (t) credentialed alcoholism and substance abuse counselors\ncredentialed by the office of addiction services and supports or by a\ncredentialing entity approved by such office pursuant to section 19.07\nof the mental hygiene law;\n (u) providers authorized to provide services and service coordination\nunder the early intervention program pursuant to article twenty-five of\nthis chapter;\n (v) clinics licensed or certified under article sixteen of the mental\nhygiene law and certified and non-certified day and residential programs\nfunded or operated by the office for people with developmental\ndisabilities;\n (w) a care manager employed by or under contract to a health home\nprogram, patient centered medical home, office for people with\ndevelopmental disabilities Care Coordination Organization (CCO), hospice\nor a voluntary foster care agency certified by the office of children\nand family services certified and licensed pursuant to article\ntwenty-nine-i of this chapter;\n * (x) certified peer recovery advocate services providers certified by\nthe commissioner of addiction services and supports pursuant to section\n19.18-b of the mental hygiene law, peer providers credentialed by the\ncommissioner of addiction services and supports and peers certified or\ncredentialed by the office of mental health;\n * NB Effective until April 1, 2026\n * (x) certified peer recovery advocate services providers certified by\nthe commissioner of addiction services and supports pursuant to section\n19.18-b of the mental hygiene law, peer providers credentialed by the\ncommissioner of addiction services and supports and peers certified or\ncredentialed by the office of mental health; and\n * NB Effective April 1, 2026\n * (y) a mental health practitioner licensed pursuant to article one\nhundred sixty-three of the education law; and\n * NB Effective until April 1, 2026\n * (y) any other provider as determined by the commissioner pursuant to\nregulation or, in consultation with the commissioner, by the\ncommissioner of the office of mental health, the commissioner of the\noffice of addiction services and supports, or the commissioner of the\noffice for people with developmental disabilities pursuant to\nregulation.\n * NB Effective April 1, 2026\n * (z) any other provider as determined by the commissioner pursuant to\nregulation or, in consultation with the commissioner, by the\ncommissioner of the office of mental health, the commissioner of the\noffice of addiction services and supports, or the commissioner of the\noffice for people with developmental disabilities pursuant to\nregulation.\n * NB Effective until April 1, 2026\n 3. "Originating site" means a site at which a patient is located at\nthe time health care services are delivered to him or her by means of\ntelehealth.\n 4. "Telehealth" means the use of electronic information and\ncommunication technologies by telehealth providers to deliver health\ncare services, which shall include the assessment, diagnosis,\nconsultation, treatment, education, care management and/or\nself-management of a patient. Telehealth shall not include delivery of\nhealth care services by means of facsimile machines, or electronic\nmessaging alone, though use of these technologies is not precluded if\nused in conjunction with telemedicine, store and forward technology, or\nremote patient monitoring. For purposes of this section, telehealth\nshall be limited to telemedicine, store and forward technology, remote\npatient monitoring and audio-only telephone communication, except that\nwith respect to the medical assistance program established under section\nthree hundred sixty-six of the social services law, and the child health\ninsurance plan under title one-A of article twenty-five of this chapter,\ntelehealth shall include audio-only telephone communication only to the\nextent defined in regulations as may be promulgated by the commissioner.\nThis subdivision shall not preclude the delivery of health care services\nby means of "home telehealth" as used in section thirty-six hundred\nfourteen of this chapter.\n 5. "Telemedicine" means the use of synchronous, two-way electronic\naudio visual communications to deliver clinical health care services,\nwhich shall include the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of a\npatient, while such patient is at the originating site and a telehealth\nprovider is at a distant site.\n 6. "Store and forward technology" means the asynchronous, electronic\ntransmission of a patient's health information in the form of\npatient-specific digital images and/or pre-recorded videos from a\nprovider at an originating site to a telehealth provider at a distant\nsite.\n 7. "Remote patient monitoring" means the use of synchronous or\nasynchronous electronic information and communication technologies to\ncollect personal health information and medical data from a patient at\nan originating site that is transmitted to a telehealth provider at a\ndistant site for use in the treatment and management of medical\nconditions that require frequent monitoring. Such technologies may\ninclude additional interaction triggered by previous transmissions, such\nas interactive queries conducted through communication technologies or\nby telephone. Such conditions shall include, but not be limited to,\ncongestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary\ndisease, wound care, polypharmacy, mental or behavioral problems, and\ntechnology-dependent care such as continuous oxygen, ventilator care,\ntotal parenteral nutrition or enteral feeding. Remote patient monitoring\nshall be ordered by a physician licensed pursuant to article one hundred\nthirty-one of the education law, a nurse practitioner licensed pursuant\nto article one hundred thirty-nine of the education law, or a midwife\nlicensed pursuant to article one hundred forty of the education law,\nwith which the patient has a substantial and ongoing relationship.\n