Telepsychiatry in Washington
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.
Parity Laws
- Washington’s parity law, enacted in 2015, mandates health plans to cover a service delivered through telemedicine if:
- The plan covers the service when delivered in person
- The service is medically necessary
- The service is recognized as an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act
Reimbursement
- Medicaid
- Washington Medicaid (Apple Health) reimburses for live video, store-and-forward, and remote patient monitoring under some circumstances
- 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
- Insurers (including employee health plans and Medicaid Managed Care) must reimburse a provider for services delivered through telemedicine or store-and-forward under certain circumstances
Telemedicine Prescribing
- Treatment and consultation recommendations made in an online setting, including issuing a prescription via electronic means, are to be held to the same standards of appropriate practice as those in in-person settings.
- Treatment, including issuing a prescription, based solely on an online questionnaire or consultation does not constitute an acceptable standard of care.
Cross State Licensing
- Clinicians need to have a Washington license in order to provide telepsychiatry services to patients located in the state.
- Washington is a member of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC)
- Washington is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)
Helpful Resources
- Center for Connected Health Policy: https://www.cchpca.org/
- Center for Telehealth & e-Health Law: http://ctel.org/
- Northwest Telehealth Resource Center: https://nrtrc.org/