Telemedicine in Texas

Telemedicine Resources By Topic

Telemedicine After PHE

Getting Started

Education

Vendors and Evaluation Criteria

Policies, Procedures and Forms

Laws and Regulations

Payment

Prescribing

Telemedicine and Patients

Remote Patient Monitoring

Telehealth Initiative
End of PHE Telehealth Chart

The Biden administration has announced the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will end May 11, 2023. Some telehealth flexibilities will end right away while others will continue through Dec. 31, 2024. This chart will help you adapt your telemedicine services based on Medicare policies. Please know that Medicaid and commercial health plans may adopt their own payment rules.
View the Chart
Telemedicine: Getting Started

COVID-19 forced the adoption of telemedicine by many physicians. TMA's telemedicine resources are designed to help you at any stage of telemedicine adoption and use. Take advantage of these resources and education developed for you, which include guidance on technology tools, policies, procedures, payment, and compliance.
Read the Guide
Telemedicine Vendor Options

The following list reveals the key functionality of the various telemedicine products as reported by the vendors on their own websites. TMA has not vetted these companies but wanted to provide information for physicians seeking to implement telemedicine into their practice. This list is not exhaustive and is separated by companies offering stand-alone products and those that have electronic health record (EHR) integrations.

Be sure to execute a business associate agreement with the telemedicine vendor.

View the Vendor Details

Telemedicine Evaluation Criteria

Telemedicine has the opportunity to transform a physician’s practice. As the service becomes more readily available through health plans and employers, patients are expecting more from their own physician. It makes sense for a patient to have the choice to see their own doctor for continuity of care and comfort in times of illness and uncertainty.

TMA created this evaluation tool to help Texas physicians with some of the criteria to consider in the selection of telemedicine vendor products.

See the Telemedicine Vendor Evaluation Criteria
What could a TMA membership mean for you, your practice, and your patients?

Join TMA Now
Policies, Procedures and Forms for Telemedicine Services

Administration and Billing

Appointment Scheduling Cancellations and No Shows

Patient Check In and Check Out

Patient Consent

Patient Selection

Physician Surroundings and Staff

Prescribing and Medication Management

Provider to Provider Communication

Referrals

Security and Emergency Protocol

Telemedicine Informed Consent Form

Telemedicine Quick Reference Sheet for Patients

Telemedicine Quick Reference Sheet for Practices

Telemedicine Referral Form

Telemedicine Referral Log

Telemedicine Services Evaluation Form

Telemedicine Visit Checklist
Telemedicine Payment

Telemedicine Billing and Coding Quick Reference Chart by Payer

Medicare Telehealth Service Codes (CMS)

CMS Debuts Coding Changes for Telehealth

Health Plans Not All Recognizing New Telehealth Code

UnitedHealthcare Waives Cost Sharing, Extends Telemedicine for Certain Plans

COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Extended; Telemedicine, Other Waivers Extended

Health Plans Extend Telemedicine, Cost-Share Waivers

Telemedicine Billing Tips: Which Codes to Use and When
Telemedicine and Patients

Tips to Improve Telehealth Access for Disabled Patients

Let Your Patients Know You Use Telemedicine

Help Your Patients Help You with Telemedicine

Are You Ready for Telemedicine Prime Time?
Texas Laws and Regulations Relating to Telemedicine

How well do you understand Texas’ laws and regulations relating to telemedicine? This document describes the new Texas legal and regulatory requirements that apply to a physician providing telemedicine medical services.

This white paper was updated in August 2019.

Don't miss out on free CME for TMA members.

Read the White Paper
Remote Patient Monitoring

Remote Patient Monitoring Product and Vendor Evaluation Tool

Safely Incorporate Remote Patient Monitoring Into Your Practice

Want to Add Remote Patient Monitoring to Your Telemedicine Services?

Accelerating RPM: COVID-19 Speeds Adoption of Remote Patient Monitoring
TMA is helping to strengthen your practice by offering advice and creating a climate of medical success across the state.

Explore TMA Member Benefits
How to Prescribe Controlled Substances Via Telemedicine Under COVID-19 Waivers

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will allow physicians to issue prescriptions for all schedule II-V controlled substances via telemedicine as long as specific conditions are met.
Get the Specifics
Immerse Yourself in Telehealth With New AMA Program

Building on the recent work of its Telehealth Initiative collaboration with the TMA and others, the American Medical Association is offering physicians more guidance on how to create a telehealth foundation in their practice.

AMA’s Telehealth Immersion Program will feature interactive peer-to-peer learning sessions, webinars, on-demand resources, and virtual discussions and boot camps.
Get Information About the Program
The Telehealth Initiative

The Telehealth Initiative – a program launched in January 2020 by The Physicians Foundation, American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, Florida Medical Association, and Massachusetts Medical Society – didn’t anticipate the pandemic. But it did anticipate telemedicine’s potential wealth of applications for care. And when the pandemic hit – two months into the initiative’s yearlong quest to educate physicians and practices on telehealth and promote its use – telemedicine became more of an on-the-job training proposition than any participant had imagined.
Learn About the Initiative
Making Telemedicine Work

A growing number of physicians are embracing telemedicine.

Because most physicians still have no first-hand experience with it, they have many questions about how it will help them and their patients.
Learn How Physicians Are Using Telemedicine
TMA Helping You Use Telemedicine More Effectively

Telemedicine is rapidly evolving, and the number of physicians who use it continues to grow.

Whether you use telemedicine every day in your practice or you’re just starting to consider how it might benefit your patients, you probably have plenty of questions and concerns about using it effectively and within compliance.

That’s why the Texas Medical Association formed a task force that will help TMA serve physicians who want to integrate telemedicine into their practice.
Get the Scoop