Epstein Becker Green’s 50-State Survey of Telemental/Telebehavioral Health (2016) was featured in The Pew Charitable Trusts' Stateline, in “How Teletherapy Addresses Mental Health Needs,” by Jon Frandsen.  Amy F. Lerman, a Senior Counsel in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, who contributed to the survey, was also mentioned in the article.

Following is an excerpt:

Lerman pointed to Massachusetts, a state that through its licensing boards has very detailed rules governing teletherapy for each of the different types of providers, including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Michigan, on the other hand, has no teletherapy rules specific to each class of provider.

Twenty-nine states have rules requiring informed consent of teletherapy patients, but they vary, too. Some allow verbal consent while others require it in writing.

Some states give psychiatrists wide latitude for prescribing drugs through teletherapy while some do not let them prescribe controlled substances. Some don’t allow for prescriptions through teletherapy at all.

States also differ considerably on what rules a psychiatrist or psychologist must follow when beginning teletherapy with a new client.

Florida has no restrictions on telepsychologists. But Delaware spells out a very detailed approach that requires them to run a risk-benefit analysis before proceeding, the Epstein survey said.

The article also appeared in North Carolina Health News and The Charlotte Observer.

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