Consent Requirements

Before an initial telehealth consultation, the provider must provide the client the following written information, which must be acknowledged by the client in writing or via email:

• Alternative options are available, including in-person services.  These alternatives are specifically listed on the client’s informed consent statement.  The client must be aware of their right to refuse the telehealth consultation;
• All existing laws and protections for services received in-person also apply to telehealth, including:
  • Confidentiality of information;
  • Access to medical records and information resulting from the telehealth consultation; and
  • Dissemination of client identifiable information, which cannot occur without written consent;
• The need for the client to utilize a private location as their originating site to preserve confidentiality;
• Whether the telehealth consultation will be or will not be recorded;
• The identification of all the parties who will be present at each telehealth consultation, and a statement indicating that the client has the right to exclude anyone from either the originating or the distant site; and
• The written consent form becomes a part of the client’s medical record, and a copy must be provided to the client or the client’s authorized representative.

Clients may provide verbal rather than written consent during initial telehealth consultations.  The client must confirm that they understand the information contained in the written consent form.  A signed statement must be collected from the client within ten days of the service being provided and added to the client’s medical record.

If the client is unable to provide consent, then it must be obtained verbally or in writing from the client’s legally authorized representative.

Informed consent is not required if, because of a medical emergency, a client or their authorized representative are unable to provide written or verbal consent prior to the delivery of a service via telehealth.

SOURCE: NE Admin. Code Title 471 Ch. 47, Sec. 004, (Accessed Mar. 2026).

Once the PHE ends on May 11, 2023: …

• Informed consent prior to providing treatments or services will again be required, and this consent must be kept in the member’s medical record.

SOURCE: NE Medicaid Program, Bulletin 23-08:  Guidance on Telehealth, Mar. 23, 2023, (Accessed Mar. 2026).

Prior to an initial telehealth consultation under section 71-8506, a health care practitioner who delivers a health care service to a patient through telehealth shall ensure that the following written information is provided to the patient:

• A statement that the patient retains the option to refuse the telehealth consultation at any time without affecting the patient’s right to future care or treatment and without risking the loss or withdrawal of any program benefits to which the patient would otherwise be entitled;
• A statement that all existing confidentiality protections shall apply to the telehealth consultation;
• A statement that the patient shall have access to all medical information resulting from the telehealth consultation as provided by law for patient access to his or her medical records; and
• A statement that dissemination of any patient identifiable images or information from the telehealth consultation to researchers or other entities shall not occur without the written consent of the patient.

The patient shall sign a statement prior to or during an initial telehealth consultation, or give verbal consent during the telehealth consultation, indicating that the patient understands the written information provided pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and that this information has been discussed with the health care practitioner or the practitioner’s designee.

If the patient is a minor or is incapacitated or mentally incompetent such that he or she is unable to sign the statement or give verbal consent as required by subsection (2) of this section, such statement shall be signed, or such verbal consent given, by the patient’s legally authorized representative.

This section shall not apply in an emergency situation in which the patient is unable to sign the statement or give verbal consent as required by subsection (2) of this section and the patient’s legally authorized representative is unavailable.

SOURCE: NE Revised Statutes Sec. 71-8505, (Accessed Mar. 2026).