415-J:2 Definitions. –
In this chapter:
I. "Distant site" means the location of the health care provider delivering services through telemedicine at the time the services are provided.
I-a. "Health benefit policy" means any individual or group plan, policy, or contract for health care services issued, delivered, issued for delivery, executed, or renewed in this state, including, but not limited to, those contracts executed by the state of New Hampshire on behalf of state employees under RSA 21-I, by an insurer.
II. "Insurer" means an accident and sickness insurer, fraternal benefit society, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, health care corporation, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, provider sponsored health care corporation, managed care entity, or any similar entity authorized to issue contracts under this title or to provide health benefit policies.
II-a. "Originating site" means the location of the patient, whether or not accompanied by a health care provider, at the time services are provided by a health care provider through telemedicine, including, but not limited to, a health care provider's office, a hospital, or a health care facility, or the patient's home or another nonmedical environment such as a school-based health center, a university-based health center, or the patient's workplace.
II-b. "Remote patient monitoring" means the use of electronic technology to remotely monitor a patient's health status through the collection and interpretation of clinical data while the patient remains at an originating site. Remote patient monitoring may or may not take place in real time. Remote patient monitoring shall include assessment, observation, education, and virtual visits provided by all covered providers including licensed home health care providers.
II-c. "Store and forward," as it pertains to telemedicine, means the use of asynchronous electronic communications between a patient at an originating site and a health care service provider at a distant site for the purpose of diagnostic and therapeutic assistance in the care of patients. This includes the forwarding and/or transfer of stored medical data from the originating site to the distant site through the use of any electronic device that records data in its own storage and forwards its data to the distant site via telecommunication for the purpose of diagnostic and therapeutic assistance.
III. "Telemedicine," as it pertains to the delivery of health care services, means the use of audio, video, or other electronic media for the purpose of diagnosis, consultation, or treatment. Telemedicine does not include the use of facsimile.