NORTH DAKOTA TELEMEDICINE LAW
North Dakota is still on its way to a comprehensive telemedicine policy. Though there’s no parity law proposed at this time, recently passed legislation does provide a definition for telemedicine, which could pave the way for upcoming proposals. North Dakota’s state employee health plan does receive an “A” rating from the American Telemedicine Association.
Parity Law
There is currently no parity law or proposed parity policy in North Dakota. However, this doesn’t mean that private payers won’t reimburse for telemedicine services in North Dakota – just that they are not obligated to by state law.
Type of Telemedicine Covered
North Dakota’s Medicaid program covers interactive video interactions. Store-and-forward, telephone and fax are not included in the North Dakota definition of telehealth.
Covered Health Services
Under North Dakota’s Medicaid program, reimbursement is available for live video services including:
· Office or other outpatient visits;
· New evaluation visits and established management visits;
· Individual psychotherapy visits; and,
· Pharmacologic management visits.
Eligible Healthcare Providers
Good news! There are no laws that restrict which healthcare providers are eligible to do bill for telemedicine in North Dakota.
Online Prescriptions
Standards for online prescribing in North Dakota are the same as prescribing for in-person services.
Informed Patient Consent
North Dakota does not require telemedicine-specific patient consent. However, we recommend this anyway as a telemedicine best practice. You can find the recommended patient consent form here.
Cross-State Telemedicine Licensing
Practicing medicine in North Dakota requires a full state telemedicine license. There is no exemption for physician-to-physician consultation.
Restrictions on Locations
North Dakota Medicaid says the originating site (where patient is) and distant site (where provider is) cannot be in the same facility or community–there must be a sufficient distance from the originating site to provide services to patients who do not have readily available access to such specialized services.
Other Reimbursable Fees
Under the Worker’s Compensation Act, the originating sites may receive a facility fee, not to exceed $20. Reimbursement will be made to the originating site as a facility fee only in place of service office, inpatient hospital, outpatient hospital, or skilled nursing facility/nursing facility.
Reimbursement Rates
Medicaid reimbursement for live video telemedicine is on-par with in-person fees, and the originating and distant sites may also receive reimbursement for long-distance charges.
Helpful Resources
Center for Connected Health Policy – North Dakota Page