Bill > HB2618

This bill aims to protect the clinical autonomy of audiologists, who are licensed professionals specializing in hearing and balance disorders. It recognizes that telehealth, including teleaudiology, is a vital and increasingly important way to deliver healthcare, expanding access and improving quality. The bill's core provision is to ensure that regulatory frameworks support audiologists' professional judgment in deciding whether telehealth or in-person treatment is best for a patient, and that these regulations should be "modality-agnostic," meaning they apply equally to both telehealth and in-person services without creating different standards. Specifically, it amends existing law (RCW 18.35.161) to explicitly state that standards for fitting and dispensing hearing instruments must be applied consistently across different care methods and must not infringe upon the clinical autonomy of licensed practitioners, and that rules should respect the clinical decision-making of these practitioners in determining the most appropriate treatment method.

Health and Social Services

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=2618&Year=2025&Initiative=false