PMHNP , telepsych for American based companies, while traveling abroad

Specialties NP

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To try to put this as simply as possible,  I have family in other countries I would love to spend a month or two with through the year, leaving me gone 4 months a year . Is it possible to work as a PMHNP in telehealth in these locations for companies in the US while visiting there? I would need to work etc for sure and was wondering if anyone has any experience working abroad, not foe the countries you are "vacationing" in, but for contract work paid by US companies or something like this? Looking for any advice input on legalities, grey areas, experience,  facts etc. Thank you ! ?

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

You just need to have a valid state license for the states you serve via telehealth.  It doesn't matter where you are physically located.  However, you will have to consider time zone differences.

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Thank you so much @FullGlass for responding.  I have no clue if I tagged you correctly just now or not ?

I have a follow up question if you don't kind. I would be able to say, get a california pmhnp license , work for them, but say live in Georgia? Or anywhere else basically ? Ty so much for your help!

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Make sure you consult a tax attorney knowledgeable in foreign remote work. It can be done but you need to consider what kind of visa you have when visiting and if the host country will let you work and what business structure, tax implications may be incurred. 

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Specializes in Psych/Med Surg/Ortho/Tele/Peds.
10 hours ago, ChrissyBee said:

Thank you so much @FullGlass for responding.  I have no clue if I tagged you correctly just now or not ?

I have a follow up question if you don't kind. I would be able to say, get a california pmhnp license , work for them, but say live in Georgia? Or anywhere else basically ? Ty so much for your help!

If you have national certification, you don't worry about the individual states, however as a poster previously mentioned - you need a valid Registered Nursing license in the state that company requires... You need to tackle that first, because my state: California is notoriously slow. 

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Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.

Check with the board of nursing in the states where you are licensed and  where your patients are. Also check with the company you're working for.

Most commonly NPs need to be licensed in states where the NPs are located and where the patients are located. Medicare/Medicaid (and some private insurance companies) require the NPs to be physically in the US and US territories when carrying out remote work.

I work for a telepsych company and I'm required to be licensed in the state where I'm physically located and the state where patients are physically located. The contract states that if there's any change to my physical location where I practice I must inform them  in writing, and that I follow state regulations at all time. If I go abroad, it's impossible for me to be licensed in that location (since it's a foreign country) and I also have a few Medicare patients.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
On 12/8/2021 at 3:06 PM, ChrissyBee said:

I have a follow up question if you don't kind. I would be able to say, get a california pmhnp license , work for them, but say live in Georgia? Or anywhere else basically ? Ty so much for your help!

Yes.  While some other responders say different, there are a lot of remote telepsych jobs available now. 

1.  You must be certified via the national PMNP exam

2.  You must have a valid RN AND NP license for every state that you work in remotely.

I see no reason that you can't live in a different state or country as long as you maintain a valid state license for the states you serve.  I don't even know how Medicaid or Medicare would enforce having to live in the same state, as you can always get a P.O. Box.  Just go to a site like Indeed and see all the telepsych jobs available.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Hello. I work I for a private practice telepsych company. You can be located anywhere, but must be licensed (RN and APRN)  in the state you are seeing patients in. We serve CA, IL, and NC. Some PMHNPs are licensed in multiple states. 

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@alice_DNPxPMHNP Thank you so much for your respons!  Alice, seeing how you have this experience,  I would love it if you wanted to give me a synopsis of your job ie:   schedule, daily work etc, patient load, actual satisfaction with the job, or any regrets going psych route versus hospitalsist or family NP. Also you are private, so this type of work is no benefits and a standard rate? And any information advice or experiences you have would be so helpful to me right now.  So many questions and thank you again !

 

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Reaching back out , anyone that is a PMHNP that wants to give some insight I would be so greatful. 

1. Do you like telepsych, why/why not? 

2. What you thought being a PMHNP was going to be like while in school vs what it really is like. 

3. Percentage of tasks daily ie: with patients _%, documenting _% etc.

4. Schedule availability flexibility,  can you work more than 8 hours in a day? Can you work 12 ? Can you get over time, and if so do you do this with another company or the same?

5. How many companies do you work for at once? Can you tell me some if so ?

6. If you wouldn't mind hourly rate for telepsych, how that pans out with times with gaps or if it does, and is it hard getting necessary hours? 

7. Taxes and benefits. Could you tell me about how you manage these ? 

8. Regrets,  disappointments- anything 

9. Also, if you do Any locum tens and how that works for you , is it hard to manage get into paperwork wise , is the compensation worth your time, similar to travel RN ? In the logistics not the job LOL

          Your feedback here is SO appreciated from myself and others considering this field or in this schooling program and probably to those already in the field. Thank you SO MUCH for any input, it's hard to find authentic information , but from direct people it makes such a difference . 

 

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On 12/8/2021 at 9:14 PM, Spinmass said:

Make sure you consult a tax attorney knowledgeable in foreign remote work. It can be done but you need to consider what kind of visa you have when visiting and if the host country will let you work and what business structure, tax implications may be incurred. 

As an experienced expat, this question deserves a better answer. It doesn't matter where in the world she is, she is still working for an American company and her paychecks will go into an American account. Foreign banks do not even want to open accounts for Americans because of the complex reporting laws the USA demands. All she needs to deal with is a visa for the length of time she stays in foreign countries. She easily has 90 days visa free in EU countries. She can typically extend that to her required 4 months as a "tourist"

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@alice_DNPxPMHNP Which company do you work for?  Do you foresee this (working abroad as a US practitioner) becoming an issue in the future? 

On 12/21/2021 at 9:45 AM, ChrissyBee said:

@alice_DNPxPMHNP Which company do you work for?  Do you foresee this (working abroad as a US practitioner) ever becoming a problem in the future? 

 

 

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