Health Affairs Scholar: Prevalence of interstate telehealth comparing internet protocol and home address

Health Affairs Scholar: Prevalence of interstate telehealth comparing internet protocol and home address

This study used geolocation data that contain patient internet protocol (IP) addresses from our academic health center’s telehealth vendor to more precisely estimate interstate telehealth rates during the period where state waivers allowed for interstate care.

Many patients value telehealth precisely because it enables continuity with existing providers as travel between work, school, or family may bring them to different states. Under current regulations, providers are expected to verify patients’ real-time location, although this requirement is rarely enforced. We show that relying on the patient’s EHR address for verification would misidentify the patient’s actual state in 12% of encounters.

Proposals such as a national telehealth license or state telehealth reciprocity agreements would permit these interstate encounters and reduce barriers to care continuity without creating additional administrative burdens for providers.