Verified October 8, 2026 against the statutes and regulations cited below. Research, not legal advice. All states
What operators miss in Arkansas
- Plans must cover and reimburse telemedicine on the same basis as in-person care, and the combined distant-site and originating-site payment may not be less than the in-person amount; CCHP still scores Arkansas as having no payment parity.
- A patient's online medical history forwarded to a physician does not count as store-and-forward and does not create a relationship.
- The first dose of an abortion-inducing drug must be given in the physical presence of the prescribing physician.
Does Arkansas have a telehealth registration for out-of-state clinicians?
Arkansas has no telehealth registration for out-of-state clinicians. A healthcare professional treating patients in Arkansas through telemedicine must be fully licensed or certified in Arkansas.
- No telehealth-specific registration: a clinician needs the full license or an exception.
Citation: Ark. Code Ann. § 17-80-118
When can an out-of-state clinician treat Arkansas patients without a Arkansas license?
The licensure requirement does not apply to a professional in another jurisdiction who provides only episodic consultation services.
- Exception for consultation with a licensed physician
Citation: Ark. Code Ann. § 17-80-118
Can a patient relationship start by telehealth in Arkansas?
A relationship may be formed by a real-time telemedicine exam that meets the in-person standard of care. A provider with access to the patient's health record may use any technology, including the telephone, to diagnose, treat and prescribe non-controlled drugs. An internet questionnaire, email, text, fax or patient-generated history alone does not establish one.
- Audio-only can establish the relationship
Citation: Ark. Code Ann. § 17-80-402; Ark. State Medical Board Rule 2.8 (239.02.22 Ark. Code R. 004)
Does Arkansas require telehealth consent?
No telehealth-specific consent statute for physicians was confirmed. Arkansas Medicaid rules require providers to follow state and federal informed-consent law.
What limits does Arkansas put on prescribing by telehealth?
Prescribing requires a proper relationship; a relationship cannot rest on an internet questionnaire, email, text or fax alone, and pharmacy law bars prescriptions issued solely on an internet or telephone consultation without a proper relationship. Medical Board rules limit telemedicine controlled substance prescriptions.
- Questionnaire-only prescribing is prohibited
- Medical Board rule: no Schedule II-V prescription by telemedicine unless the physician has seen the patient in person or a relationship exists through consultation or referral, on-call or cross-coverage, or an ongoing personal or professional relationship.
Citation: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-80-402, 17-92-1003(14)(B); Ark. State Medical Board rule 060.00.16-005
Does Arkansas require its own controlled-substance registration?
Do private payers in Arkansas have to cover telehealth?
- Private-payer telehealth coverage law
Citation: Ark. Code Ann. § 23-79-1602
How does Arkansas treat the corporate practice of medicine?
Adding Arkansas to your telehealth practice?
A State Expansion Pack applies Arkansas's rules to your service line and lists what changes in your workflow before the first visit.
Sources
- index for all fields; licensure, relationship, prescribing and payer statute text as quoted
- relationship (Rule 2.8: telephone with health record access; questionnaire exclusion)
- notes (online history is not store-and-forward, Rule 38)
- privatePayer.coverageLaw, notes (same-basis coverage, as quoted by CCHP)
- registration, licensureExceptions (full licensure; episodic consultation)
- prescribing (§ 17-92-1003 text as quoted by CCHP), notes (§ 20-16-603)
- prescribing.controlledSubstanceLimits (as quoted by CCHP)