{"id":57303,"date":"2021-12-23T17:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T17:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dinsmore.com\/?post_type=publications&p=57303"},"modified":"2025-11-24T20:39:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T20:39:32","slug":"ohio-permanently-expands-use-of-telehealth-services","status":"publish","type":"publications","link":"https:\/\/www.dinsmore.com\/publications\/ohio-permanently-expands-use-of-telehealth-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Permanently Expands Use of Telehealth Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth across Ohio and the United States was steadily increasing. However, out of necessity over the last two years, telehealth has expanded exponentially in order to reduce risks of COVID-19 transmission to practitioners and patients alike. Nearly overnight, the health care community was forced to change the way services were accessed, delivered, and received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulatory officials at the local, state, and federal levels were also required to change their approach in enforcing varying rules and statutes affecting the health care profession. For example, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) developed telehealth rules for declared emergencies that included expansion of the types of practitioners eligible to provide telehealth services to Medicaid beneficiaries. ODM also amended its definition of \u201ctelehealth\u201d to include telephone-only services, remote patient monitoring, and communication through secure email. Similarly, the State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) announced early on in the pandemic that it would not enforce in-person visit requirements for treatment involving matters such as prescribing controlled substances and medical marijuana recommendations\/renewals. Many, if not most of these changes were designated as temporary and tied to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine\u2019s declared state of emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 18, 2021, Governor DeWine formally ended Ohio\u2019s COVID-19 state of emergency. Since that time, some agencies have attempted to revert to previous regulatory frameworks and approaches that made the use of telehealth improper in certain circumstances. For instance, the SMBO initially announced that it would resume enforcement of in-person visit requirements on Sept. 17, 2021, though the enforcement date was later postponed. These announcements caused much concern to patients and those within the medical community who had leveraged expanded telehealth services during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ohio General Assembly quickly realized that Ohioans are not only welcoming, but now demanding that that their health care providers utilize telehealth technologies. As such, Representatives Mark Frazier and Adam Holmes introduced House Bill (HB) 122 \u2013 also known as the Telemedicine Expansion Act \u2013 that makes Ohio\u2019s telehealth expansion permanent and specifically declares that it is the intent of the General Assembly to expand access to and investment in telehealth services in Ohio. HB 122 was passed unanimously<\/em> by both the Ohio House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor DeWine on Dec. 22, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effect of HB 122 on telehealth in Ohio is significant. In regards to people authorized to provide telehealth services, HB 122 expands the health care professionals who may provide telehealth services to include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n