American Telemedicine Association Delivers New State Report Card on Telemental Health

ATA Identifies Highest Ranking States for Policy Landscape Supporting Telemental and Behavioral Health

WASHINGTON, DC (PRWEB) July 05, 2016

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) released a new critical state policy report which identifies existing policy barriers that impede the use of telemental and behavioral health intended to enable patient and psychologist choice for quality health care services.

To facilitate understanding of the variations in state psychology board practice standards and their relative accommodation of telehealth tools, ATA graded each state with a common letter grade of A, B, C or F based on three specific criteria including: psychologist-patient encounter, informed consent, and licensure & out-of-state practice. In addition, each state received an averaged composite grade.

Eight states averaged a composite grade "A" suggesting a supportive policy landscape that accommodates telemental telehealth adoption. The states include:

• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

"The GAPS report are an important tool for states to benchmark where they are in telehealth regulatory spectrum," stated Jonathan Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association. By enabling states to clearly see where they rank, relative to others these states are then able to address each failing area one-by-one."

Colorado is the only state that averaged the lowest composite score "F," a stark contrast from the state's composite grade in ATA's Coverage & Reimbursement and Physicians Practice Standards & Licensure Gaps Analysis reports released in 2015. Colorado's low grade suggests many barriers for telemental health advancement within the state.

The report, including research methodology and a state-specific report card, may be downloaded here.

###

About the American Telemedicine Association

The American Telemedicine Association is the leading international resource and advocate promoting the use of advanced remote medical technologies. ATA and its diverse membership work to fully integrate telemedicine into healthcare systems to improve quality, equity, and affordability of healthcare throughout the world. Established in 1993, ATA is headquartered in Washington, DC. For more information please visit http://www.americantelemed.org

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/07/prweb13531653.htm