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Committee backs tele-dentistry bill requiring initial in-person exam, tasks Board of Dentistry with rules
Summary
A committee approved S-453, which applies telehealth rules to dental practice but requires an initial in-person examination to establish a bona fide patient-licensee relationship, allows exceptions for emergent care and public-health programs, and directs the Board of Dentistry to adopt implementing regulations.
A legislative committee moved and approved S-453, a bill that applies telehealth principles to dentistry while requiring safeguards to protect patients.
Senator Davis summarized the bill as applying "telehealth provisions to the telehealth practice" for dentistry. The bill permits the use of video conferencing and secure messaging for dental consultation and education but requires that, initially, "there must be a bona fide relationship between the patient, and the licensee or the dentist," established by a review of the patient's medical history and an appropriate in-person examination for diagnostic purposes. The sponsor emphasized that exceptions are limited: a licensee may establish the relationship through teledentistry only for emergent care or in connection with a public-health program.
Mr. Hogan read language that recommends an in-person examination under Title 40, Chapter 15 of the South Carolina Code of Laws before beginning telehealth treatment "in order to prevent injury or harm," and said the bill places an obligation on the Board of Dentistry to adopt regulations covering the regime.
The committee had brief questions about what counts as a "public health program;" the sponsor said it includes programs approved by the board or administered by DHHS or a health school district. With no amendments offered, the committee voted to give the bill a favorable report.
Next steps: the bill will proceed to the floor for further action; the transcript does not record specific roll-call tallies.
