Telepsychiatry in Florida
Telepsychiatry can be used to augment behavioral health services in a variety of facilities including hospitals, federally qualified health centers, community clinics, correctional facilities, outpatient offices, primary care offices, crisis centers, schools, geriatric facilities and more.
Reimbursement
- Medicaid
- FL Medicaid reimburses for real time, two-way, interactive telemedicine
- Medicare
- Medicare only reimburses for telehealth services that are provided to a patient at one of 11 outlined originating sites and that site has to be located in a health professional shortage area (HPSA) or a county outside a metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
- Use the following link to determine if your site is eligible for Medicare reimbursement: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/medicare/telehealth
- Medicare only reimburses for telehealth services that are provided to a patient at one of 11 outlined originating sites and that site has to be located in a health professional shortage area (HPSA) or a county outside a metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
- Private Payers
- There’s no parity law in place but insurers and providers can agree on payment rates and payment methodologies for telehealth delivered services
Telemedicine Prescribing
- Florida only allows the prescribing of controlled substances via telehealth if the substance is being prescribed for:
- The treatment of a psychiatric disorder
- Inpatient treatment at a hospital
- Treatment of a patient receiving hospice services
- Treatment of a nursing home resident
Cross State Licensing
- Clinicians need to hold a Florida license in order to provide telepsychiatry services to patients located in Florida
- Florida is not yet a member of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC)
- Florida is a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact
Helpful Resources
- Center for Connected Health Policy: https://www.cchpca.org/
- Center for Telehealth & e-Health Law: http://ctel.org/
- Southeastern Telehealth Resource Center: https://www.setrc.us/