by State Sen. Dan Hegeman
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This session, state lawmakers successfully passed a number of health care measures with the goal of making high-quality medical care more accessible and affordable to Missourians in every corner of the state. In particular, these measures should benefit Missourians living in our rural areas.
Among the healthcare related bills that became law this year, Senate Bill 579 will expand telehealth, or telemedicine, services in Missouri, allowing doctors to practice remotely via a computer or telephone connection. The expansion of telehealth will make it easier for additional medical providers to operate remotely and remove the distance and time barriers that discourage patients from seeking or continuing care.
Meanwhile, House Bill 1816 contains provisions establishing a Physical Therapist Compact and a new Nursing Licensure Compact in Missouri. While there are differences between the individual compacts, these new agreements will allow Missouri licensed physical therapists and nurses to more easily practice in other states, but more importantly, it will be easier for licensees in other compact states to practice in Missouri.
This ability should be particularly helpful in the countless rural communities on Missouri’s borders, making it easier for these health care professionals to possibly serve an area they otherwise would seek to avoid due to the time and cost necessary to obtain multiple state licenses for under different standards.
House Bill 1816 also contains a provision that will allow pharmacists, upon your request, to exercise their professional judgment to fill your physician prescribed non-narcotic maintenance medication prescription up to a 90-day quantity. This means you may be saving time and money by having fewer trips to the pharmacy and fewer co-pays.
Both SB 579 and HB 1816 improve the ability of health care providers to offer higher-quality, timely medical services for Missourians living in rural areas. While these changes appear to be small, these bills, amongst a few others, are common-sense measures that will be critical towards improving rural Missourians access to care.