California's Telemedicine Restrictions Are Forcing Rare Disease Patients To Travel Out of State for Care
To receive treatment and consultations for her hemophilia A, a rare bleeding disorder, Shellye Horowitz will periodically travel from her home in rural northern California to a hemophilia clinic associated with the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Hospital in Portland, Oregon. California's telemedicine regulations require that doctors who treat or consult with patients in California must also be licensed in California. Since the specialists Horowitz sees aren't licensed in California, she's frequently having to make the 14-hour round trip up to Portland for appointments that could hav...