The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced that health care professionals (excluding physicians) offering telemedicine services to patients in 2021 are required to complete telemedicine training between Jan. 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Physicians and osteopathic physicians are exempt from the requirement, which took effect earlier this year as RCW 43.70.495. To learn more about the different training options and guidelines and to access additional resources, please visit the Washington State Telehealth Collaborative Training page. Enroll online to complete the free and publicly available Washington State Medical Professional Telemedicine Training.
The Telehealth Collaborative and the UW Behavioral Health Institute are also offering an alternative means for fulfilling the training requirement: the TelBehavioral Health 101 Training. The training is divided into a six-part series, though completion of the first session alone will meet the state’s telehealth training requirements. TeleBehavioral Health 101 is available in two formats: an online self-directed training, set to go live mid-December 2020, or a live interactive webinar version from Jan. 8 – Feb. 26, 2021. Trainees do not need to complete both to meet the state requirements and can choose whichever format is preferred. Register here for the TeleBehavioral Health Webinar Series starting Jan. 8, 2021. Please contact David Streeter at davids@wsha.org with any questions about the training requirements.
