Florida Legislative Session Ends Without Advancing Telemedicine Measures

Florida's legislative session has ended without advancing provisions of an omnibus bill that promoted the use of telemedicine within the state by allowing physicians who were not licensed to practice medicine in Florida to provide telemedicine consultations within the state, according to a Miami Herald report.

There has been an ongoing battle over the telemedicine rules in Florida. The Senate has fought to require physicians offering telemedicine services within the state to have a Florida medical license. In contrast, the House supported a bill that just required out-of-state physicians to register with the state and pay a nominal fee to be able to practice telemedicine from outside of Florida.

More tension was created regarding the telemedicine rules when the Florida department of health adopted rules allowing out-of-state physicians to render consultations with Florida licensed physicians without being licensed in the state.  

The omnibus bill, including the telemedicine provisions, was passed by the Florida House with a 74-42 vote, but the Senate eliminated the bill's telemedicine provisions just minutes before the state's legislative session ended, according to a Herald-Tribune report.

The senators who opposed the telemedicine provisions said they felt it would jeopardize patient safety, according to the Herald-Tribune.

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