Telehealth

A Manatee County woman with no training in mental health services pretended to be a licensed social worker during online therapy sessions with Brightside Health patients.

The retail giant on April 30 cited an unsustainable business model when it announced it would close its 51 Walmart Health locations in five states. That included 23 stores in Florida.

The risk of death for mothers during pregnancy or in the year following childbirth is rising and experts say one of the contributing factors is lack of access to healthcare. Now, as part of an effort to address the trend, Florida lawmakers are looking into a plan to expand maternal telehealth.

The “front door” to the health system is changing, under pressure from increased demand, consolidation, and changing patient expectations.

Physicians will still have to conduct in-person exams before approving patients for medical marijuana. But it will allow physicians to use telehealth for renewal approvals.

A Venice-based physician who specializes in medical marijuana care, told the Health Care Regulation Subcommittee that using telehealth for renewals would benefit some of the sickest Floridians.

Under current law, patients are required to receive in-person physical exams from physicians to get certified and be evaluated in person at least once every 30 weeks for recertification.

A college administrator says many students seeking mental health care prefer the privacy of teletherapy over an in-person appointment — even when they call in from an on-campus location.

Hospitals are warning doctors not to practice medicine in a state where they don’t have a license. That affects cancer patients and others who have grown to depend on video visits and other remote care.

Online companies are connecting patients and doctors, and sharing fees with the physicians, which could run afoul of a law prohibiting patient brokering. The activities are drawing the ire of doctors following the rules.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed 42 bills, including a heavily debated measure that will change staffing standards in nursing homes. The nursing-home industry lobbied for the measure.

Among the other measures awaiting the governor's pen was a proposal that would broaden doctors’ ability to prescribe controlled substances through telemedicine.