Alaska’s Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development has finalized new regulations to create a special Telemedicine Business Registry for health care providers delivering telemedicine services in the Frontier State. The regulations in Title 12, Chapter 02 of the Alaska Administrative Code were effective on April 28, 2017 and implement provisions of Alaska SB 74 that was signed into law last summer.

Under the regulations, companies must be registered with the telemedicine business registry before providing telemedicine services to patients located in Alaska. To register, a business performing telemedicine services must submit an application and registration fee. A telemedicine company operating under multiple names to perform telemedicine services must file a separate registration for each name.

If the name, address, or contact information of a business on the telemedicine business registry changes, the business performing telemedicine services must submit a Business Registry Change Form within 30 days of the change.

A business that fails to comply with the regulations section in a timely manner may not perform telemedicine services in Alaska and must submit a new application to the telemedicine business registry before resuming telemedicine services.

Telemedicine companies and health care providers offering services in Alaska should be mindful of these developments. We will continue to monitor Alaska for any changes that affect or improve telemedicine opportunities in the state.