§ 9361. Health care providers delivering health care services through telemedicine or by store-and-forward
means
(a) As used in this section, “distant site,” “health care provider,” “originating site,”
“store-and-forward,” and “telemedicine” have the same meanings as in 8 V.S.A. § 4098a.
(b) Subject to the limitations of the license under which the individual is practicing,
a health care provider licensed in this State may prescribe, dispense, or administer
drugs or medical supplies, or otherwise provide treatment recommendations to a patient
after having performed an appropriate examination of the patient in person, through
telemedicine, or by the use of instrumentation and diagnostic equipment through which
images and medical records may be transmitted electronically. Treatment recommendations
made via electronic means, including issuing a prescription via electronic means,
shall be held to the same standards of appropriate practice as those in traditional
provider-patient settings.
(c)(1) A health care provider delivering health care services or dental services through
telemedicine shall obtain and document a patient’s oral or written informed consent
for the use of telemedicine technology prior to delivering services to the patient.
(A) The informed consent for telemedicine services shall be provided in accordance with
Vermont and national policies and guidelines on the appropriate use of telemedicine
within the provider’s profession and shall include, in language that patients can
easily understand:
(i) an explanation of the opportunities and limitations of delivering health care services
or dental services through telemedicine;
(ii) informing the patient of the presence of any other individual who will be participating
in or observing the patient’s consultation with the provider at the distant site and
obtaining the patient’s permission for the participation or observation; and
(iii) assurance that all services the health care provider delivers to the patient through
telemedicine will be delivered over a secure connection that complies with the requirements
of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191.
(B) For services delivered through telemedicine on an ongoing basis, the health care provider
shall be required to obtain consent only at the first episode of care.
(2) The provider shall include the patient’s written consent in the patient’s medical
record or document the patient’s oral consent in the patient’s medical record.
(3) A health care provider delivering telemedicine services through a contract with a
third-party vendor shall comply with the provisions of this subsection (c) to the
extent permissible under the terms of the contract. If the contract requires the health
care provider to use the vendor’s own informed consent provisions instead of those
set forth in this subsection, the health care provider shall be deemed to be in compliance
with the requirements of this subsection if he or she adheres to the terms of the
vendor’s informed consent policies.
(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, a health care provider
shall not be required to obtain a patient’s informed consent for the use of telemedicine
in the following circumstances:
(A) in the case of a medical emergency;
(B) for the second certification of an emergency examination determining whether an individual
is a person in need of treatment pursuant to section 7508 of this title; or
(C) for a psychiatrist’s examination to determine whether an individual is in need of
inpatient hospitalization pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 4815(g)(3).
(d) Neither a health care provider nor a patient shall create or cause to be created a
recording of a provider’s telemedicine consultation with a patient.
(e)(1) A patient receiving health care services or dental services by store-and-forward means
shall be informed of the patient’s right to refuse to receive services in this manner
and to request services in an alternative format, such as through real-time telemedicine
services or an in-person visit.
(2) Receipt of services by store-and-forward means shall not preclude a patient from receiving
real-time telemedicine services or an in-person visit with the distant site health
care provider at a future date.
(3) Originating site health care providers involved in the store-and-forward process shall
obtain informed consent from the patient as described in subsection (c) of this section. (Added 2011, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 8, 2012; amended 2017, No. 64, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2017; 2019, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. March 30, 2020; 2025, No. 11, § 17, eff. September 1, 2025.)