The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) announced Wednesday a three-year joint initiative to advance legislative measures to reduce state licensure barriers to expand access to telemedicine across the United States.
This collaboration is called the Licensure Innovation for Telehealth Transformation (LIFTT) initiative. The goal is to increase understanding among the public and lawmakers about the need to improve telehealth access, and will focus on “practical federal solutions” to address gaps, such as continuity of care and scarce expertise, according to the announcement.
“LIFTT will mobilize advocates, inform policymakers, and collaborate with health systems to strengthen the national strategy on interstate telehealth on behalf of patients across the country,” Helen Hughes, M.D., medical director of the Johns Hopkins University Telehealth Office, said in the announcement. “ATA is a driving force in advancing telehealth at both the federal and state levels, and we are excited to partner to transform telehealth through targeted federal licensing solutions.”
Johns Hopkins University’s telehealth website states that while there has been “incremental progress” in the past decade to increase access to telehealth, “state-by-state implementation is still needed to effect change.”
Some states have instituted temporary rules to improve access to telehealth as the need for virtual health services increases during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the website. But many have since reverted to guidelines that ultimately complicate interstate care. Patients most affected by these regulations include rare disease patients, cancer patients, transplant patients, and people living in rural areas.
This new initiative aims to create a federal solution that strengthens state-based regulation.
“State-specific licensing rules limit patients’ access to essential health services, especially specialized care, and create unnecessary obstacles to cross-state collaboration,” ATA CEO Kyle Zebley said in a statement. “Federal oversight allows us to establish a consistent strategy for telehealth access nationwide while respecting local governance structures.”
Zebree later added that the organization was planning a “supportive commitment” to the effort, with details to be announced “in the near future.”
