HEALTH POLICY PAPER
Health policy topic: Licensure requirements for telehealth practice in Virginia.
Narrative for the paper: After COVID-19 telehealth boosted due to the ease in state and regulatory policies which allowed flexibility in providing care out of state. In favor of the Cross-state or portable telehealth/telemedicine license like the nurses or a Government or federal issued (single) license for practicing out-of-state or in all states. There should be a single medical license approach recognized across all fifty states that allows physicians to practice interstate medicine without needing a medical license in each state. Currently guideline is that a practitioner must be licensed by, or under the jurisdiction of, the regulatory board of the state where the patient is located and the state where the practitioner is located. Practitioners who treat or prescribe through online service sites must possess appropriate licensure in all jurisdictions where patients receive care. Example like the Department of Veteran’s Affairs VA that allows VA doctors, nurses, and other health-care providers to administer care to Veterans using telehealth, or virtual technology, regardless of where in the United States the provider or Veteran is located, including when care will occur across state lines or outside a VA facility or Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). A federal license can reduce administrative burden, increase healthcare outreach, making it easier for specialty/rare doctors to be able to offer their care etc…. discuss Interstate licensure compacts, portability, national licensing. Focus on Virginia. Also focus on specific telehealth services like telepsychology to narrow down the topic.
Use the following format and components in completing the assignment:
Steps to Determining the Health Policy Solution to Your Problem.
1. Identify a health care issue and describe why this issue is of concern and/or interest to you. Include evidence that supports the need for this issue to become a public policy (not an action by the healthcare industry). YOUR TOPIC SHOULD BE VERY SPECIFIC AND NARROW IN SCOPE, MAKING IT A MORE FEASIBLE AND EFFECTIVE POLICY.
(Length of (1): 2 pages)
2. Determine what kind of public policy your healthcare issue needs. From the textbook and what you learned from the Week 2 on-line lecture, identify whether the policy should be a distributive or regulatory policy, and why.
Apply what you have learned in the class and produce a strategy for realizing your desire to have government address your health problem or concern. Your strategy will include the following:
Whether (and why) the policy solution you desire is one that is best
suited to:
a. Be addressed by the federal, state, or local government. If you choose a
state or local government, it must be a specific state or local (county or city) government.
b. Originate in the legislative, executive, or judicial branch of government,
c. Be a new or modified action by government
(Length of (2): 2 pages)
3. How you plan to accomplish your desire to have government address your
problem. This includes:
a. Identification of which individuals or organizations NOT PART OF
GOVERNMENT you will work with to get your issue/concern on the political
agenda of policy makers in government.
b. Determination of how best to advocate/lobby for your issue to government
policymakers, including to whom in government you will be targeting your
lobbying efforts, and how you plan to get their attention and support.
(Length of (3): 2-3 pages)
4. Draft a Proposed Policy that outlines your problem and what government should do. Which type of public policy you choose (law, regulation, ordinance, etc.) will be based on how you answer. Use the following templates for a:
Law (Statute) or Ordinance: Use the “Bill Template” at:
https://www.speechanddebate.org/legislation-templates/
Regulation:
https://www.epa.gov/web-policies-and-procedures/web-standard-regulatory-template#template
(Length of C(3): 2 -3 pages)
The paper should total 9-10 pages double-spaced (not including title page and references) with 1” margins, 12pt font, APA.
The policy solution should include whether it is involving:
1.federal, state, or local government; 2. the legislative, executive, or judicial
branch of government; and 3. a policy that represents a new or modified
action by government.
