Florida’s health regulators announced the appointment of 13 health care professionals to a board tasked with assessing the viability of telemedicine.
The taskforce will recommend solutions for reimbursing doctors who use distance medicine technology to treat patients.
The 15-member panel will be chaired by Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Elizabeth Dudek or her stand-in. Florida Surgeon General Celeste Philip was also appointed to the committee and can also select a stand-in.
The Telehealth Advisory Council was set up after lawmakers couldn't agree on the best way to regulate the use of webcams and other technology to treat patients from a distance.
Major sticking points were whether out-of-state doctors could participate and how physicians would be reimbursed for the services by insurance companies.
After years of failing bills, lawmakers decided on creating a taskforce to study these questions and make recommendations to the Legislature. The board is expected to have those recommendations a year from January.
The panel is composed of doctors, insurance representatives and medical supply executives from around the state, including Jacksonville Dr. Servam Terkonda.
A full list of the board appointees is below:
- Elizabeth Miller, CRNP, of Tampa, serves as the chief operation officer of WellCare Health Plans.
- Dr. Ernest Bertha, of Sunrise, serves as the medical director of Sunshine Health.
- William Manzie, of Hollywood, serves as the administrative director of Telehealth Strategy for Memorial Healthcare.
- Matthew Stanton, of Cleveland, serves as senior director of distance health for the Cleveland Clinic.
- Dr. Steven Selznick, of Longwood, serves as the CEO/president for Selznick Consulting.
- Darren Hay, of Miami Beach, serves as the senior vice president of Ideal Life.
- Monica Stynchula, of St. Petersburg, serves as the CEO of REUNIONCare and is the acting state president of AARP.
- Leslee Gross, of Coral Gables, serves as the assistant vice president of operations for Baptist Health South Florida.
- Dr. Kevin O’Neil, of Sarasota, serves as the chief medical officer of Brooksdale Senior Living, Inc.
- Dr. Kim Landry, of Gulf Breeze, serves as the EMS medical director and chief medical officer for Leon County EMS and Lifeguard Ambulance Service, Inc.
- Dr. Sarvam Terkonda, of Jacksonville, serves as the Site Medical Director for Connected Care in Florida for Mayo Clinic.
- Dr. Anne Burdick, of Miami Beach, serves as a Professor of Dermatology, Leprosy Program Director and Associate Dean for Telehealth and Community Outreach for the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine.
- Mike Smith, of Tallahassee, serves as the Telemedicine Program Development Director for Florida State University, College of Medicine.
Copyright 2020 WJCT News 89.9. To see more, visit WJCT News 89.9. 9(MDAyNDY5ODMwMDEyMjg3NjMzMTE1ZjE2MA001))
