Virtual ARNP out of state?

Specialties NP

Published

Hi!

I'm looking at grad school options. I planned on Psych NP, but I don't live in an autonomous state, and I want to operate as a private practice. With virtual medicine taking off, would it be possible to operate a virtual private practice from my home state if I got licensed in and only saw patients in one of the autonomous states? Or are there residency requirements?

Thank you!

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Specializes in ER, Public Health, Community, PMHNP.

wow, what a question! I have no idea what the answer is but I am very interested in finding out also? Any of the experts in this field please jump in.

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Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.

I am interested too. What I have read so far is that you have to be licensed in the state where the patient resides. Some states require an initial in person evaluation. I spend time in Costa Rica and I have wondered what it would take to practice from there.

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.

Provocative idea.

This is currently being done via telemedicine through the Kaiser Permanente call center.

You have to be a member of their insurance group (Kaiser), however, you can be out of state and have either a telephone appointment, or a video appointment with one of the on-call ER physicians. They won't use NP's or PA's for whatever reason(s).

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Specializes in Outpatient Psychiatry.

I have a colleague doing that.

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Specializes in ER, Public Health, Community, PMHNP.

psych guy can you elaborate on how he is doing this please? I am very interested. Thanks!

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Nursing.

Check out point #4 of this article which talks a bit about telemedicine: https://uaprn.enpnetwork.com/page/15481-twelve-ways-physcians-and-aprns-can-earn-extra-money

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Specializes in Outpatient Psychiatry.
psych guy can you elaborate on how he is doing this please? I am very interested. Thanks!

My state uses a telehealth program for specialists operated by the state although I should point out that I/we are not employees of the state. Any provider can enroll in the program. I have the same high def camera, large HD monitor, and Bose speakers on my office desk, connected to a designated CPU, as well as a separate laptop. She had the system delivered to her house out of state, hooked up by our company's IT department, and sees patients just as she would if she were in an in-state office seeing patients in a far corner of the state.

To my knowlege, it's never caused any policy repurcussions or lessened reimbursement. We're quite the boundary pushing company. A lot of our people use this to see patients in remote sites or work from home. I can't really expound any further because I don't know anymore about it other than it works, it's legal, and everybody gets paid.

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