KRS § 321.186 — KY Code / Title XXVI / Chapter 321 / Section 321.186
321.186 Telehealth -- Authorization -- Types
Status: in_force

321.186 Telehealth -- Authorization -- Types.

Telehealth shall be authorized for veterinary practice. Telehealth is divided into

categories based on who is involved in the communication. For communication between

veterinarians and other persons, there are distinctions in practice related to whether a

VCPR as set forth in KRS 321.185 has been established with the patient. Different types

of veterinary telehealth include the following:

(1) Telemonitoring, mHealth, or mobile health applications and wearables which are:

(a) Designed to augment animal health care within VCPRs; or

(b) Designed and marketed directly to consumers for their education and for

animal monitoring without clinical input and outside the context of a VCPR;

(2) Telesupervision, which shall be permitted as a part of telehealth practice;

(3) Telemedicine or connected care, which provides the delivery of information

specific to a particular patient and shall be conducted within the context of an

established VCPR to ensure protection for the patient, subject to the following:

(a) Telemedicine or connected care is an approach to veterinary practice that is

patient- and client-centered, and actively engages the entire veterinary

healthcare team. This type of telehealth involves use of one (1) or more tools

to exchange medical information electronically from one (1) site to another to

improve a patient's clinical health status, which may be utilized to augment

the practice of veterinary medicine. The appropriate application of connected

care or telemedicine can enhance animal care by facilitating communication,

diagnostics, treatments, client education, scheduling, and other tasks;

(b) Practitioners providing telemedicine or connected care to patients in the

Commonwealth shall be credentialed to practice by the board and operate in

association with a registered veterinary facility or registered allied animal

health professional facility in Kentucky. Practitioners practicing this type of

telemedicine shall comply with all state and federal statutes and regulations,

including requirements for access to follow-up care; and

(c) Telemedicine or connected care provided to patients in Kentucky shall only

be conducted within an existing VCPR as set forth in KRS 321.185 and is

required to be reestablished through an in-person visit every twelve (12)

months, with the exception of advice given in an emergency care situation or

teletriage until a patient can be seen by or transported to a veterinarian. The

VCPR for that twelve (12) months shall be deemed to constitute a relationship

in Kentucky, regardless of whether the patient or client travels outside the

Commonwealth; and

(4) Telehealth conducted without a VCPR, which may include only the delivery of

general advice, educational information, and teletriage. Telehealth which may be

conducted without a VCPR includes:

(a) Teleadvice, which is general advice that is not intended to diagnose, prognose,

treat, correct, change, alleviate, or prevent animal disease, illness, pain,

deformity, defect, injury, or other physical, dental, or mental conditions. If the

practitioner providing the teleadvice is a qualified veterinarian, veterinary

technician, allied animal health professional, or other board credential holder,

the practitioner shall be required to hold a valid credential from the Kentucky

board, except as authorized by KRS 321.200, shall comply with all state and

federal statutes and regulations, and shall disclose the practitioner's name and

Kentucky credential number to the person receiving services;

(b) Teleconsulting, in which the established VCPR remains with the veterinarian

seeking advice or counsel; and

(c) Teletriage, when in assessing patient condition electronically, the assessor

determines urgency and the need for immediate referral to a veterinarian,

based on the owner’s or responsible party’s report of history and clinical

signs, sometimes supplemented by visual information, such as photographs or

video. Practitioners providing teletriage to patients in the Commonwealth

shall be credentialed to practice by the board in Kentucky, shall comply with

all state and federal statutes and regulations, and shall disclose the

practitioner's name and Kentucky credential number to the person receiving

services.