Fla. Stat. § 383.2163 — Florida Code / Title XXIX / Chapter 383 / Section 383.2163
383.2163 Telehealth Minority Maternity Care Program.
Status: in_force

The department shall establish a statewide Telehealth Minority Maternity Care Program that uses telehealth to expand the capacity for positive maternal health outcomes in racial and ethnic minority populations. The department may enlist county health departments to assist with program implementation.

(1) DEFINITIONS. — As used in this section, the term: (a) “Department” means the Department of Health. (b) “Eligible pregnant woman” means a pregnant woman who is receiving, or is eligible to receive, maternal or infant care services from the department under chapter 381 or this chapter. (c) “Health care practitioner” has the same meaning as in s. 456.001. (d) “Health professional shortage area” means a geographic area designated as such by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. (e) “Indigenous population” means any Indian tribe, band, or nation or other organized group or community of Indians recognized as eligible for services provided to Indians by the United States Secretary of the Interior because of their status as Indians, including any Alaskan native village as defined in 43 U.S.C. s. 1602(c), the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as that definition existed on the effective date of this act. (f) “Maternal mortality” means a death occurring during pregnancy or the postpartum period which is caused by pregnancy or childbirth complications. (g) “Medically underserved population” means the population of an urban or rural area designated by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services as an area with a shortage of personal health care services or a population group designated by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of such services. (h) “Perinatal professionals” means doulas, personnel from Healthy Start and home visiting programs, childbirth educators, community health workers, peer supporters, certified lactation consultants, nutritionists and dietitians, social workers, and other licensed and nonlicensed professionals who assist women through their prenatal or postpartum periods. (i) “Postpartum” means the 1-year period beginning on the last day of a woman’s pregnancy. (j) “Severe maternal morbidity” means an unexpected outcome caused by a woman’s labor and delivery which results in significant short-term or long-term consequences to the woman’s health. (k) “Technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building model” means a distance health care education model that connects health care professionals, particularly specialists, with other health care professionals through simultaneous interactive videoconferencing for the purpose of facilitating case-based learning, disseminating best practices, and evaluating outcomes in the context of maternal health care.

(2) PURPOSE. — The purpose of the program is to: (a) Expand the use of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models to improve maternal health outcomes for the following populations and demographics: 1. Ethnic and minority populations. 2. Health professional shortage areas. 3. Areas with significant racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes and high rates of adverse maternal health outcomes, including, but not limited to, maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity. 4. Medically underserved populations. 5. Indigenous populations. (b) Provide for the adoption of and use of telehealth services that allow for screening and treatment of common pregnancy-related complications, including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, hemorrhage, infection, amniotic fluid embolism, thrombotic pulmonary or other embolism, hypertensive disorders relating to pregnancy, diabetes, cerebrovascular accidents, cardiomyopathy, and other cardiovascular conditions.

(3) TELEHEALTH SERVICES AND EDUCATION. — The program shall adopt the use of telehealth or coordinate with prenatal home visiting programs, or both, to provide all of the following services and education to eligible pregnant women up to the last day of their postpartum periods, as applicable: (a) Referrals to Healthy Start’s coordinated intake and referral program to offer families prenatal home visiting services. The program may also accept referrals from the Healthy Start program of eligible pregnant women seeking services offered under the program. (b) Services and education addressing social determinants of health, including, but not limited to, all of the following: 1. Housing placement options. 2. Transportation services or information on how to access such services. 3. Nutrition counseling. 4. Access to healthy foods. 5. Lactation support. 6. Lead abatement and other efforts to improve air and water quality. 7. Child care options. 8. Car seat installation and training. 9. Wellness and stress management programs. 10. Coordination across safety net and social support services and programs. (c) Evidence-based health literacy and pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting education for women in the prenatal and postpartum periods. (d) For women during their pregnancies through the postpartum periods, connection to support from doulas and other perinatal health workers. (e) Tools for prenatal women to conduct key components of maternal wellness checks, including, but not limited to, all of the following: 1. A device to measure body weight, such as a scale. 2. A device to measure blood pressure which has a verbal reader to assist the pregnant woman in reading the device and to ensure that the health care practitioner performing the wellness check through telehealth is able to hear the reading. 3. A device to measure blood sugar levels with a verbal reader to assist the pregnant woman in reading the device and to ensure that the health care practitioner performing the wellness check through telehealth is able to hear the reading. 4. Any other device that the health care practitioner performing wellness checks through telehealth deems necessary.

(4) TRAINING. — The program shall provide training to participating health care practitioners and other perinatal professionals on all of the following: (a) Implicit and explicit biases, racism, and discrimination in the provision of maternity care and how to eliminate these barriers to accessing adequate and competent maternity care. (b) The use of remote patient monitoring tools for pregnancy-related complications. (c) How to screen for social determinants of health risks in the prenatal and postpartum periods, such as inadequate housing, lack of access to nutritional foods, environmental risks, transportation barriers, and lack of continuity of care. (d) Best practices in screening for and, as needed, evaluating and treating maternal mental health conditions and substance use disorders. (e) Information collection, recording, and evaluation activities to: 1. Study the impact of the program; 2. Ensure access to and the quality of care; 3. Evaluate patient outcomes as a result of the program; 4. Measure patient experience; and 5. Identify best practices for the future expansion of the program.

(5) REPORTS. — By October 31, 2025, and each October 31 thereafter, the department shall submit a program report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which includes, at a minimum, all of the following for the previous fiscal year: (a) The total number of clients served and the demographic information for the population served, including ethnicity and race, age, education levels, and geographic location. (b) The total number of screenings performed, by type. (c) The number of participants identified as having experienced pregnancy-related complications, the number of participants who received treatments for such complications, and the final outcome of the pregnancy for such participants. (d) The number of referrals made to the Healthy Start program or other prenatal home visiting programs and the number of participants who subsequently received services from such programs. (e) The number of referrals made to doulas and other perinatal professionals and the number of participants who subsequently received services from doulas and other perinatal professionals. (f) The number and types of devices given to participants to conduct maternal wellness checks. (g) The average length of participation by program participants. (h) Composite results of a participant survey that measures the participants’ experience with the program. (i) The total number of health care practitioners trained, by provider type and specialty. (j) The results of a survey of the health care practitioners trained under the program. The survey must address the quality and impact of the training provided, the health care practitioners’ experiences using remote patient monitoring tools, the best practices provided in the training, and any suggestions for improvements. (k) Aggregate data on the maternal and infant health outcomes of program participants. (l) For the initial report, all available quantifiable data related to the telehealth minority maternity care pilot programs.

(6) FUNDING. — The department’s Division of Community Health Promotion and Office of Minority Health and Health Equity shall work in partnership to apply for federal funds that are available to assist the department in accomplishing the program’s purpose and successfully implementing the program.

(7) RULES. — The department may adopt rules to implement this section.

History: s. 3, ch. 2021-238; s. 5, ch. 2024-15.