Bill description: SB 1295 would restrict the practice of teledentistry.

Rating: -3

Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market? 

SB 1295 establishes a definition of teledentistry and imposes requirements on anyone performing it. Specifically, dentists offering teledentistry services cannot take on a patient remotely until they have either established “a referral relationship with a licensed dentist within the area of the patient’s location” or have obtained “a signed patient notification” that the patient is aware that subsequent in-person treatment may be required. The requirement to develop referral networks is likely to drive up the cost for teledentists to provide services to patients. 

(-1)

SB 1295 further restricts teledentistry by inserting specific requirements to discourage teleorthodontistry. The bill allows the Idaho State Board of Dentistry to revoke a dentist’s license and impose a $10,000 charge in administrative penalties on anyone who performs teledental services to correct malposition of teeth without first meeting an in-person requirement. Specifically, teledentists must either have an in-person evaluation with their patient or the patient has to send to their teledentist the medical record of an in-person evaluation they had with another dentist.

(-1)

SB 1295 effectively removes the ability to offer completely remote teeth correction by allowing for the revocation of a license on such grounds. It further cements restrictions by insisting that the only way to evaluate teeth for teeth correction is through “digital or conventional radiographic or other necessary imaging.” This requirement to use imaging to correct teeth is restrictive in the free market, which currently has many companies that use molds and other such methods to remotely deliver teeth-correcting devices besides traditional braces.

(-1)