The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved HB 2509, which would permit a physician to prescribe certain controlled substances when using telemedicine technologies.
Mark Spangler, executive director of the Board of Medicine, was available to answer questions from committee members about how the bill would apply to telemedicine across state lines.
Mark Drennan, executive director of the WV Behavioral Heathcare Providers Association, said the bill would allow psychiatrists and physicians to more efficiently treat children without having to drive miles to physically prescribe medication for those children.
Drennan also clarified other specific provisions of the bill for members and discussed its cost-effectiveness and accessibility in the state.
Senator Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, amended the bill to include provisions to prevent the telehealth prescription of abortion-causing medications.
The bill was previously reported out of Senate Health and Human Resources with the recommendation that it do pass.
The committee also laid over a bill that would authorize the Commissioner of Agriculture to promulgate a legislative rule relating to Livestock Care Standards.
The bill, HB 2219, contains a bundle of 49 rules related to Livestock Care Standards.
DNR Dir. Stephen McDaniel and Asst. Chief Game Manager Gary Foster were available to answer questions about certain rules within the bill related to disease outbreaks with wildlife and tagging systems.
Col. Jerry Jenkins of the DNR addressed questions from the committee regarding the violation of tagging rules.
Crescent Gallagher, legislative liaison for the Dept. of Agriculture, was available to field additional questions from the committee regarding disease testing and tagging.
Senator Ronald Miller, D-Greenbrier, made an amendment to restore stricken language regarding a registration book for hunters who kill tagged deer.
The committee is expected to meet 3 p.m. this afternoon.
