Florida State Surgeon General’s Emergency Order 20-009 Continues to Allow Out-of-State Practitioners to Offer Telehealth Services to Persons in Florida

By: Susan St. John

State Surgeon General, Scott A. Rivkees, M.D., issued Emergency Order (“EO”) 20-009, which extends EO 20-002 and continues to allow out-of-state MDs, DOs, APRNs and PAs, to provide telehealth services to persons in Florida. EO 20-009 is set to expire June 30, 2020, unless otherwise extended.

Further, EO 20-009 continues to allow Florida licensed controlled substance prescribers (MDs, DOs, APRNs, PAs) to issue renewal prescriptions of controlled substances for non-malignant pain for existing patients. Additionally, EO 20-009 extends until June 30, 2020, a qualified physician’s ability to recertify an existing qualified and certified patient’s continued use of medical marijuana by using telehealth services.Continue reading

Prescribing & Dispensing Controlled Substances: Legal Update

dispensing controlled substances

dispensing controlled substancesBy: Michael Silverman

A new law has been passed in Florida that pertains to prescribing and dispensing controlled substances. On March 19, 2018 Governor Scott signed HB21, which becomes effective July 1, 2018. Intended to address the growing nationwide opioid epidemic that has also greatly affected Floridians, among other requirements, the new regulations establish:Continue reading

Medicare Telehealth Basics

Medicare TelemedicineBy: Susan St. John

If you are having issues with Medicare telehealth claim matters then you want to hire an experienced legal team that can guide you through the process, ensuring the best possible outcome. You also have the benefit of knowing that you are getting the best counsel for any legal matters and do not have to rely on amateur advisement like blogs and forums. These are some of the questions you can get answers to:

  • What experience do you have? When you hire an attorney to handle a legal matter for your business, you want them to be experienced and have a well established presence in this industry because there’s a chance they will be going up against insurance companies who have a lot of money and an experienced team of their own.
  • How can you help me with this situation? When you are dealing with this matter you want to make sure that everything is taken under consideration. For example, are you compliant with all the rules and regulations, new changes in policy or anything else that comes up? Do you have all the licensing you need to conduct business and so forth? An experienced team will make sure you have everything you need to move forward.
  • How can you help me in the future? One of the biggest advantages of hiring a law firm rather than an individual attorney is that we can assist you with several legal matters that come up in the future. Today you may need assistance with a contract for hiring a new doctor but a year from now it may be to purchase or sell a practice.

With the rise in services provided to patients via telehealth entities, it is important that both practitioners and patients understand what criteria must be met in order to provide and bill telehealth on behalf of Medicare patients. Here are a few of the basics.

First, “telehealth service” for Medicare purposes means “professional consultations, office visits, and office psychiatry services, and any additional service specified by the Secretary. To be eligible for payment, telehealth services must be rendered to an eligible individual, that is, an individual enrolled in Medicare, who receives telehealth services at an originating site from a physician or practitioner at a distant site via telehealth communications system. An eligible individual does not need to be presented by a physician or practitioner at the originating site to a physician or practitioner at a distant site, unless it is medically necessary. Determination of whether a presenting physician or practitioner is necessary at the originating site is made by the physician or practitioner at the distant site.

So, what is an originating site and what is a distant site?Continue reading

Billing & Telehealth Payment for Services in Florida

telehealth payment

telehealth paymentBy: Jacqueline Bain

Here in Florida, where large portions of the population are as transient as migrating birds, doctors and other practitioners often experience a downturn in their practice during the spring and summer months. However, telehealth provides these doctors and practitioners an option to continue treating their patients from afar, provided certain legal and technical requirements are met. The Federal Government and Medicare have been at the forefront of outlining how these services of the future may be properly rendered, allowing for continuity of care in a controlled setting. Medicare, for instance, pays for a limited number of Part B services furnished by a doctor or practitioner to an eligible Medicare beneficiary. To understand how to provide these services, doctors and practitioners must first learn the language.

Key Terms

An “originating site” is where the eligible Medicare beneficiary is located at the time the telehealth service is furnished. Originating sites may be physician offices, hospitals, rural health clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Critical Access Hospitals, Skilled Nursing Facilities, and Community Mental health Centers. Medicare Administrative Contractors pay originating sites an originating site facility fee for telehealth services through HCPCS code Q3014.Continue reading

Telehealth Now Trending in Substance Abuse Treatment

telemedicineBy: Karina Gonzalez

Most commercial health plans require that prior to admission to a substance abuse treatment facility, patients must have a face-to-face individual assessment by a licensed behavioral health clinician 72 hours prior to admission, to determine if the admission is both medically necessary and clinically appropriate.   Many potential patients reside in states outside of Florida (or a given destination),  so complying with a face-to-face requirement when a patient is in another state before admission is a challenge.  Telehealth is being increasingly utilized to evaluate these out-of-state patients and perform the necessary face-to-face evaluation in advance of arrival at a given facility. However, as with anything healthcare, there is a right way and a wrong way to implement this technology. In the coming weeks, we’ll be discussing many of the facets involved from telemedicine claims overpayments to Medicare telehealth law issues.