2013 New York Consolidated Laws
PBH - Public Health
Article 28 - (2800 - 2824*2) HOSPITALS
2805-U - Credentialing and privileging of health care practioners providing telemedicine services.

 
    §  2805-u.  Credentialing and privileging of health care practitioners
  providing telemedicine services. 1. For purposes of this section:
    (a) "Distant site hospital" means a hospital licensed pursuant to this
  article or a hospital licensed by another state, that has  entered  into
  an  agreement with an originating hospital to make available one or more
  health care practitioners that are members of its clinical staff to  the
  originating   hospital   for  the  purposes  of  providing  telemedicine
  services. To qualify as a distant site hospital  for  purposes  of  this
  article,  a  hospital  licensed  by  another  state must comply with the
  federal regulations governing participation by hospitals in Medicare.
    (b) "Health care practitioner" shall mean a person  licensed  pursuant
  to article one hundred thirty-one, one hundred thirty-one-B, one hundred
  thirty-three,  one  hundred  thirty-nine, one hundred forty, one hundred
  forty-one, one hundred forty-three, one hundred forty-four, one  hundred
  fifty-three,  one  hundred  fifty-four  or one hundred fifty-nine of the
  education law, or as otherwise authorized by the commissioner.
    (c) "Originating hospital" means the hospital at which  a  patient  is
  located at the time telemedicine services are provided to him or her.
    (d) "Telemedicine" means the delivery of clinical health care services
  by  means  of  real  time two-way electronic audio-visual communications
  which facilitate the  assessment,  diagnosis,  consultation,  treatment,
  education,  care  management  and  self management of a patient's health
  care while such patient is at the originating site and the  health  care
  provider is at a distant site.
    2.   When   telemedicine  services  are  provided  to  an  originating
  hospital's patients  pursuant  to  an  agreement  with  a  distant  site
  hospital,  the  originating  hospital  may,  in  lieu  of satisfying the
  requirements set forth in section twenty-eight hundred  five-k  of  this
  article, rely on the credentialing and privileging decisions made by the
  distant  site  hospital  in  granting or renewing privileges to a health
  care practitioner who is a member of the clinical staff of  the  distant
  site hospital, provided that:
    (a) the distant site hospital participates in Medicare and Medicaid;
    (b)  each  health care practitioner providing telemedicine is licensed
  to practice in this state;
    (c)  the  distant  site  hospital,  in  accordance  with  requirements
  otherwise  applicable  to  that  hospital,  collects  and  evaluates all
  credentialing  information  concerning  each  health  care  practitioner
  providing  telemedicine  services,  performs  all  required verification
  activities, and acts on behalf of the originating site hospital for such
  credentialing purposes;
    (d) the distant site hospital reviews periodically, at least every two
  years, and as otherwise warranted based on outcomes, complaints or other
  circumstances,  the  credentials,  privileges,   physical   and   mental
  capacity,  and  competence  in  delivering  health care services of each
  health care practitioner  providing  telemedicine  services,  consistent
  with  requirements  otherwise  applicable  to that hospital; reports the
  results of such review to the originating  hospital;  and  notifies  the
  originating  hospital  immediately  upon  any suspension, revocation, or
  limitation of such privileges;
    (e) with respect to each distant site  health  care  practitioner  who
  holds  privileges  at the originating hospital, the originating hospital
  conducts a periodic internal review, at least every two  years,  of  the
  distant site practitioner's performance of these privileges and provides
  the  distant  site hospital with such performance information for use in
  the distant hospital's periodic appraisal of the distant site  physician
  or  health  care  practitioner.  Such  information  shall  include, at a
  minimum, all adverse events that result from the  telemedicine  services

  provided by the distant site health care practitioner to the originating
  hospital's   patients,  all  complaints  the  originating  hospital  has
  received about  the  distant  site  practitioner,  and  any  revocation,
  suspension  or  limitation of the distant site practitioner's privileges
  by the originating hospital; and
    (f) the agreement entered into between the originating  site  hospital
  and distant site hospital shall be in writing and shall, at a minimum:
    (i)  provide  the  categories  of  health  care practitioners that are
  eligible  candidates  for  appointment  to  the  originating  hospital's
  clinical staff,
    (ii) require the governing body of the distant site hospital to comply
  with  the Medicare conditions of participation governing the appointment
  of medical staff with regard to the health care practitioners  providing
  telemedicine services,
    (iii)  itemize  the  credentialing information to be collected and the
  required verification activities to be performed  by  the  distant  site
  hospital  and relied upon by the originating hospital in considering the
  recommendations of the distant site hospital,
    (iv) require each distant  site  health  care  practitioner  providing
  telemedicine  services  to  be  licensed  to  practice in this state and
  privileged at the distant site hospital,
    (v) require the distant site hospital to provide  to  the  originating
  hospital  a current list of each distant site health care practitioner's
  privileges at the distant site hospital, and
    (vi) require the distant site hospital to conduct  a  periodic  review
  consistent  with  requirements otherwise applicable to that hospital, at
  least every two years, and as otherwise  warranted  based  on  outcomes,
  complaints or other circumstances, the credentials, privileges, physical
  and  mental  capacity, and competence in delivering health care services
  of each health care practitioner  providing  telemedicine  services;  to
  provide the originating hospital with the results of such review; and to
  notify   the  originating  hospital  immediately  upon  any  suspension,
  revocation, or limitation of such privileges.
    3.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed  as  allowing  an
  originating  hospital  to delegate its authority over and responsibility
  for decisions concerning the credentialing and granting staff membership
  or  professional  privileges  to  health  care  practitioners  providing
  telemedicine services.
    4.  Notwithstanding  any  contrary  provision  of  law, an originating
  hospital shall not be required to provide a physical examination  or  to
  maintain  recorded  medical history including immunizations for a health
  care provider providing consultations solely through telemedicine from a
  distant site hospital.