The Missouri House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that aims to make it easier to bring virtual healthcare to your doorstep.
State law allows telehealth services to be delivered by video. Rep. Melanie Stinnett, R-Springfield, wants to allow an audio-only option to access this care. She said having the alternative could be helpful to patients for a variety of reasons.
“When you’re looking at someone who may have to travel a distance to get that access, they may put that off for a time. So, they may be able to get quicker access through telehealth,” she said. “And then the visual component is available as well. But when that doesn’t work out and you need to switch to audio only, you can do that.”
Lack of technology skills and patients who are visually-impaired could also be barriers to access these services.
“This is important for many of our rural communities, for many of our seniors that are trying to access health care in our communities,” said Stinnett. “It is just a small change to make sure that they have that access.”
Another component of Stinnett’s bill would allow healthcare providers to choose what telehealth platform they want.
“When we look at the use of telehealth and how it’s expanded, and the things that it’s done for access, I think we can all recognize that its use has been really valuable, and we want to make sure people throughout the state have that access,” said Stinnett.
Her bill is on its way to the Senate for more debate.
For more information about House Bill 825, click here.
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