Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 23 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND REGULATED INDUSTRIES (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-119-105) › Subtitle 3 - INSURANCE (§§ 23-60-101 — 23-103-417) › Chapter 79 - INSURANCE POLICIES GENERALLY (§§ 23-79-101 — 23-79-2802) › Subchapter 16 - COVERAGE FOR SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH TELEMEDICINE (§§ 23-79-1601 — 23-79-1602) › Section 23-79-1601 - Definitions

As used in this subchapter:
(1)
"Distant site" means the location of the healthcare professional delivering healthcare services through telemedicine at the time the services are provided;
(2)
(A)
"Health benefit plan" means:
(i)
An individual, blanket, or group plan, policy, or contract for healthcare services issued or delivered by an insurer, health maintenance organization, hospital medical service corporation, or self-insured governmental or church plan in this state; and
(ii)
Any health benefit program receiving state or federal appropriations from the State of Arkansas, including the Arkansas Medicaid Program and the Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me Program, or any successor program.
(B)
"Health benefit plan" includes:
(i)
Indemnity and managed care plans; and
(ii)
Nonfederal governmental plans as defined in
29 U.S.C. § 1002(32)
, as it existed on January 1, 2015.
(C)
"Health benefit plan" does not include:
(i)
Disability income plans;
(ii)
Credit insurance plans;
(iii)
Insurance coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance;
(iv)
Medical payments under automobile or homeowners insurance plans;
(v)
Health benefit plans provided under Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 32, the Workers' Compensation Law, §
11-9-101
et seq., or the Public Employee Workers' Compensation Act, §
21-5-601
et seq.;
(vi)
Plans that provide only indemnity for hospital confinement;
(vii)
Accident-only plans;
(viii)
Specified disease plans;
(ix)
Long-term-care-only plans; or
(x)
Stand-alone dental or vision benefit plans;
(3)
"Healthcare professional" means a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of this state to administer health care in the ordinary course of the practice of his or her profession;
(4)
(A)
"Originating site" means a site at which a patient is located at the time healthcare services are provided to him or her by means of telemedicine.
(B)
"Originating site" includes the home of a patient;
(5)
"Remote patient monitoring" means the use of synchronous or asynchronous electronic information and communication technology to collect personal health information and medical data from a patient at an originating site that is transmitted to a healthcare professional at a distant site for use in the treatment and management of medical conditions that require frequent monitoring;
(6)
"Store-and-forward technology" means the asynchronous transmission of a patient's medical information from a healthcare professional at an originating site to a healthcare professional at the distant site; and
(7)
(A)
"Telemedicine" means the use of electronic information and communication technology to deliver healthcare services, including without limitation the assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient.
(B)
"Telemedicine" includes store-and-forward technology and remote patient monitoring.
(C)
For the purposes of this subchapter, "telemedicine" does not include the use of:
(i)
(a)
Audio-only communication, unless the audio-only communication is real-time, interactive, and substantially meets the requirements for a healthcare service that would otherwise be covered by the health benefit plan.
(b)
As with other medical services covered by a health benefit plan, documentation of the engagement between patient and provider via audio-only communication shall be placed in the medical record addressing the problem, content of conversation, medical decision-making, and plan of care after the contact.
(c)
The documentation described in subdivision (7)(C)(i)
(b)
of this section is subject to the same audit and review process required by payers and governmental agencies when requesting documentation of other care delivery such as in-office or face-to-face visits;
(ii)
A facsimile machine;
(iii)
Text messaging; or
(iv)
Email.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 530,§ 5, eff. on and after January 1, 2022.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 829,§ 4, eff. 4/21/2021.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 829,§ 3, eff. 4/21/2021.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 767,§ 3, eff. 7/28/2021.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 203,§ 4, eff. 8/1/2017.
Added by Act 2015, No. 887,§ 4, eff. 4/1/2015.