Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 007 - ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Division 33 - Division of Health Related Boards and Commissions › Rule 007.33.22-017 - State board of Physical therapy Telehealth Rule

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Pursuant to the Arkansas Telemedicine Act, Ark.Code Ann.
				§§
								17-80-401 et
				seq., this rule applies to the provision of services via telehealth by physical
				therapists and physical therapist assistants when acting within their
				respective scopes of practice.
I.
			 Definitions
As used in this rule:
(1) "Distant site" means the location of the
			 licensee delivering services through telemedicine at the time the services are
			 provided;
(2) "Healthcare
			 professional" has the same meaning as in Ark. Code Ann. §
									17-80-402(2)
			 of the Telemedicine Act.
(3)
			 "Licensee" means a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant licensed
			 by the Arkansas State Board of Physical Therapy;
(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
			 telehealth.
(B) "Originating site"
			 includes the home of a patient;
(5) "Professional relationship" means at a
			 minimum a relationship established between a licensee and a patient when:
(A) The licensee has previously conducted an
			 in-person examination of the patient and is available to provide appropriate
			 follow-up care, when necessary, at medically necessary intervals;
(B) The licensee personally knows the patient
			 and the patient's relevant health status through an ongoing personal or
			 professional relationship and is available to provide appropriate follow-up
			 care, when necessary, at medically necessary intervals;
(C) The treatment is provided by a licensee
			 in consultation with, or upon referral by, another healthcare professional who
			 has an ongoing professional relationship with the patient and who has agreed to
			 supervise the patient's treatment, including follow-up care;
(D) An on-call or cross-coverage arrangement
			 exists with the patient's regular treating healthcare professional or another
			 healthcare professional who has established a professional relationship with
			 the patient;
(E) A relationship
			 exists in other circumstances as defined by rule of the Arkansas State Medical
			 Board for healthcare professionals under its jurisdiction and their patients;
			 or
(F)
(i) The licensee has access to a patient's
			 personal health record maintained by a licensee and uses any technology deemed
			 appropriate by the licensee, including the telephone, with a patient located in
			 Arkansas to diagnose and treat the patient.
(ii) For purposes of this rule, a health
			 record may be created with the use of telehealth and consists of relevant
			 clinical information required to treat a patient, and is reviewed by the
			 licensee who meets the same standard of care for a telehealth visit as an
			 in-person visit;
(6) "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 licensee at a distant
			 site for use in the treatment and management of medical conditions that require
			 frequent monitoring:
(7)
			 "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 a distant site; and
(8)
(A)
			 "Telehealth" 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)
			 "Telehealth" includes store-and-forward technology and remote patient
			 monitoring.