CS for SB 1646 - Florida Telemedicine Act

• Requires out-of-state physicians, physician assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners, and pharmacists providing telemedicine to Florida patients to obtain Florida licensure, with limited exceptions for consultations, emergencies, and physicians meeting alternative state licensure requirements.

• Mandates telemedicine providers complete a board-approved 2-hour continuing education course on telemedicine standards by license renewal; prohibits prescribing legend drugs via telemedicine without visual examination and prohibits prescribing controlled substances for chronic pain via telemedicine.

• Establishes standards for telemedicine services including equipment encryption, recordkeeping, privacy compliance with HIPAA and HITECH Act, and identification of all providers and individuals viewing patient information.

• Permits automated equipment for eye disease diagnosis and treatment if FDA-approved and meeting specified requirements, but prohibits spectacle or contact lens prescriptions based solely on automated refractive error measurements.

• Requires Medicaid reimbursement for telemedicine services equivalent to in-person services; restricts managed care plans from using non-physician telemedicine providers to meet network adequacy requirements; prohibits insurance claim denials based on telemedicine medical necessity determinations unless made by physicians.