Caring for Out-of-State Patients When Telemedicine is Restricted

MD Linx: Caring for Out-of-State Patients When Telemedicine is Restricted

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers temporarily changed state laws to allow physicians without a license in a particular state to treat its residents via telemedicine. Between January and June of 2021, among Medicare beneficiaries, 57.2 percent of out-of-state telemedicine visits were made by patients who lived in counties within 15 miles of a state border. Patients in rural communities were the most likely to receive telemedicine care out-of-state. Experts say that reinstituting state-licensing restrictions undermines the continuity of care across state lines, which is imperative to providing high-quality care—especially for critically or terminally ill patients who might not otherwise have access.