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Johns Hopkins Telemedicine

Telehealth Across State Lines

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Johns Hopkins Medicine is working to make it easier for patients to see their doctors online through telehealth.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, video visits with doctors became common, and people saw how well they work. Since then, some states have updated their rules to make it easier for doctors to treat patients in other states through telehealth. But, many states still have rules that make this difficult.

Johns Hopkins Medicine believes this needs to change. We’re pushing for new national rules that would let patients see the doctors they know and trust — no matter which state they live in.

Licensure Innovation for Telehealth Transformation (LIFTT)

Johns Hopkins has teamed up with the American Telemedicine Association to lead the LIFTT initiative (Licensure Innovation for Telehealth Transformation).

The goal of LIFTT is to help the public and lawmakers understand why we need new federal rules to improve telehealth access across the country. Over the next three years, LIFTT will work to spread the word about how state licensing rules make it hard for patients to get care — and push for changes that will make telehealth easier to access for patients everywhere.

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary rules made it easier for patients to have video visits with doctors in other states. But now that those rules have ended, it is harder to schedule these appointments. Many states have gone back to their old, stricter rules about which doctors can treat patients. This means patients often can’t get care through telehealth from doctors who live in a different state.

Doctors must typically be licensed in the state where their patient is located at the time of care. People affected most by cross-state telehealth restrictions include:

  • People with rare diseases and cancers
  • College students who live out of state for school
  • Clinical trial participants who don’t live near academic medical centers
  • Patients with palliative care needs
  • Transplant recipients
  • People who need mental health services
  • People who live in rural areas
  • People with complex or chronic conditions traveling out of their home state

While there has been incremental progress over the past 10 years to promote reform, enacting change still requires state-by-state adoption.



Learn More About the Impact of Interstate Telehealth Barriers

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The LIFTT initiative is a three-year effort to help people understand why state licensing rules make it hard for patients to get telehealth care and to push for changes that will fix this problem.

Johns Hopkins Medicine and the American Telemedicine Association are nonprofit organizations. They are working together with partners across the country to spread the word about this issue. Our plan is to educate patients, doctors, health systems and lawmakers about why reform is needed now. The goal isn’t to get rid of state rules. It’s to add a simple federal approach that works alongside them, so doctors can treat patients in other states when care is urgent or hard to find locally.

We are seeking support for the LIFTT initiative. Together, we can improve interstate telehealth access and drive meaningful change. Join us in building on the current momentum to address this critical issue, ensuring continuity of care and access to rare specialty services.

You can contact us by email at [email protected]

Events

Patient Videos

Telehealth Across State Lines | Kim Eboch’s Story

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Telehealth Across State Lines: Patient Stories

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Learn More Advocating for Telemedicine