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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, First Regular Session
health care providers; telemedicine
Purpose
Removes the requirement that telemedicine encounters are conducted in real-time with audio and video capability.
Background
The Arizona Medical Board (AMB) is responsible for protecting the public from unlawful, incompetent, unqualified, impaired or unprofessional practitioners of allopathic medicine. Additionally, the Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery (ABOE) regulates practitioners of osteopathic medicine. Finally, the Arizona Board of Pharmacy (ABOP) regulates the practice of pharmacy and the distribution, sale and storage of prescription medications, prescriptive devices and nonprescription medications in Arizona (A.R.S. §§ 32-1403; 32-1803; and 32-1901).
Statute designates numerous acts of unprofessional conduct for licensees of the AMB and the ABOE including prescribing, dispensing or furnishing prescription medication or a prescription-only device without either conducting a physical or mental health examination or previously establishing a physician-patient relationship. Current statute allows the physical or mental health examination to be conducted during a real-time telemedicine encounter with audio and video capability. Further, ABOP licensees may only dispense a drug on a prescription order written through a telemedicine encounter if the encounter was in real-time with audio and video capability (A.R.S. §§ 32-1401; 32-1854; and 32-1901.01).
Telemedicine is the practice of health care delivery, diagnosis, consultation and treatment and the transfer of medical data through interactive audio, video or data communications that occur in the physical presence of the patient, including audio or video communications sent to a health care provider for diagnostic or treatment consultation (A.R.S. § 36-3601).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Removes the requirement that telemedicine encounters conducted to prescribe, dispense or furnish prescription medication or prescription-only devices are conducted in real-time with audio and video capability.
2. Makes technical and conforming changes.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 15, 2021
CRS/kja