Lawmaker has offered plan to streamline the process in Michigan

State Rep. Douglas Wozniak, of Shelby Township, today heard testimony along with the House Health Policy Committee on a proposal expanding telemedicine to connect more people with health care professionals.

Telemedicine is broadly defined as the use of electronic systems to link patients with doctors when the two are in different locations. This can be done with interactive audio, video or both.

The five-bill, bipartisan package which Wozniak helps sponsor, responds to studies that have shown portions of Michigan lack physicians – notably one conducted by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

“Telemedicine is convenient for those who may not be able to see a physician in person due to transportation or distance barriers,” Wozniak said. “It is cost-effective and reduces waiting times in offices or emergency rooms for those who need services at a brick-and-mortar care facility. Very simply, this is an efficient and technologically savvy way to get people the care they need from legitimate physicians.”

Michigan established a basic framework for the delivery of telehealth services in 2016, addressing patient consent, standards for prescription drugs and other rules. House Bills 5412-16 address some of the hurdles still to clear with the evolving process, including allowing for purely home-based services instead of requiring services take place at a centralized, qualified local health center. Home-based services would include patient monitoring data such as the transmission of blood pressure readings, weight, blood sugar levels and other vitals that one would see at a routine check-up or at the beginning of an office visit.

Wozniak stressed the plans are about getting more people in southeast Michigan and across the state the care they need, without jeopardizing the basic and crucial privacy shared through a patient and physician during an in-person appointment.

“The security and privacy of telemedicine services is of the utmost importance,” Wozniak said. “We have to make sure this technology can be sufficiently protected on basic software or smart phones. But overall, this is a positive step in getting more people more practical and convenient care.”

The bills remain under consideration in the House Health Policy Committee.