Bill Text: VA SR109 | 2021 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending telehealth care providers in Virginia.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-02-04 - Bill text as passed Senate (SR109ER) [SR109 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2021-SR109-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, telehealth care providers in Virginia have helped meet the need for expanded health care resources during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, telehealth includes the use of videoconferencing, the Internet, store-and-forward imaging, and other telecommunications technologies to support virtual patient health care; and
WHEREAS, telehealth care providers offer the remote delivery of clinical services via telecommunications technology, allowing patients to engage with health care providers while avoiding the in-person contact that may put them at risk of coronavirus transmission; and
WHEREAS, health care providers use telehealth as a way to safely provide care to their patients in appropriate situations, including routine wellness visits, medication consultation, dermatology, eye exams, nutrition counseling, and mental health counseling; and
WHEREAS, telehealth and remote care services have proven critical to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also ensuring uninterrupted care for 100 million Americans with chronic or preexisting conditions; and
WHEREAS, by substituting the use of telemedicine for traditional in-person treatments, providers were able to conserve personal protective equipment for frontline practitioners during a time of limited supplies and increased need; and
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 154 percent increase in telehealth visits during the last week of March 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, demonstrated early that telehealth would be an important tool during the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, organizations like the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center and Virginia Telehealth Network experienced an 800 percent increase in requests for technical assistance services in late March 2020 and have seen large ongoing increases in such requests as compared to previous years; and
WHEREAS, telehealth services are proven to be evidence-based treatment alternatives to hospital admission, which can alleviate hospital bed capacity issues; and
WHEREAS, a recent survey from UVA Health that included more than 1,900 patients between April and June of 2020 found that 83.4 percent would consider more telehealth visits, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, if they were offered; and
WHEREAS, the American Medical Association reports between 60 and 90 percent of physicians in the United States are now using some sort of telehealth service as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, providers across the Commonwealth have made significant investments in their capabilities to offer patients more telehealth treatment options, and both federal and state agencies have prioritized investments into broadband Internet service to expand the reach of telehealth to health care deserts; and
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth continues to address regulatory and reimbursement issues that are limiting providers from treating more patients in need of care; and
WHEREAS, according to the National Institutes of Health, telehealth is proven to increase access to, quality of, and satisfaction of care, while lowering the cost to deliver it; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That telehealth care providers in Virginia hereby be commended for helping to ensure access to affordable, accessible health care for every Virginian no matter where they live, how much they earn, and what their medical condition may be; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to representatives of telehealth care providers in Virginia as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's admiration for their visionary use of technology to increase the health and wellness of all Virginians, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
