The Medical Board may propose a registration program to permit the practice of medicine across state lines. The program may include standards for confidentiality, format, and retention of medical records, as well as access to medical records by the board.
Within a telemedicine scenario, all existing laws regarding patient access to medical information and copies of medical records apply, and dissemination of any patient identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without the consent of the patient;
In order to obtain and maintain a registration, in-state or out-of-state telephone medical advice services shall comply with the requirements established by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The service providers must maintain records of telephone medical advice services provided to California patients [e.g. oral or written transcripts of all medical advice conversations with the health care service plan's enrollees or subscribers in California] and records of complaints, for at least five years.
Every health care service plan that provides, operates, or contracts for telephone medical advice services to its enrollees and subscribers must maintain records of its telephone medical advice services for a period of 5 years after the services are provided, including oral or written transcripts of all medical advice conversations with the health care service plan's enrollees or subscribers in California and copies of all complaints.
The Director of the Department of Managed Health Care shall forward to the Department of Consumer Affairs, within 30 days of the end of each calendar quarter, data regarding complaints filed with the department concerning telephone medical advice services.
Every disability insurer that provides group or individual policies of disability that provides telephone medical advice services to its insureds shall require that the in-state or out-of-state telephone medical advice service makes and maintains records for a period of five years after the telephone medical advice services are provided, including, but not limited to, oral or written transcripts of all medical advice conversations with the disability insurer's insureds in California and copies of all complaints.
Face-to-face contact between a health care provider and a patient shall not be required under the Medi-Cal program for teleophthalmology and teledermatology by store and forward. "Teleophthalmology and teledermatology by store and forward” means an asynchronous transmission of medical information to be reviewed at a later time by a physician at a distant site who is trained in ophthalmology or dermatology or a licensed optometrist; the physician or optometrist at the distant site reviews the medical information without the patient being present in real time.
This section defines "telemedicine" to include transfer of medical data using audio, video or data communication; All existing laws regarding patient access to medical information and copies of medical records apply to patients receiving care by telemedicine.
It is the Legislature's intent that all medical information sent during the provision of health care via telemedicine become part of the patient's medical record and maintained by the health care provider.
