The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them under this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1) “Board” means the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals.

(2) “Conversion therapy” means any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, as “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined in § 710 of Title 19, including any effort to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender. “Conversion therapy” does not mean any of the following:

a. Counseling that provides assistance to an individual who is seeking to undergo a gender transition or who is in the process of undergoing gender transition.

b. Counseling that provides an individual with acceptance, support, and understanding without seeking to change an individual ’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

c. Counseling that facilitates an individual ’s coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, including counseling in the form of sexual orientation-neutral interventions or gender identity-neutral interventions provided for the purpose of preventing or addressing unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, without seeking to change an individual ’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

(3) “Distant site” means a site at which a health-care provider legally allowed to practice in the State is located while providing health-care services by means of telemedicine or telehealth.

(4) “Division” means the Division of Professional Regulation of the State of Delaware.

(5) “Excessive use or abuse of drugs” means any use of narcotics, controlled substances or illegal drugs without a prescription from a licensed physician, or the abuse of alcoholic beverage such that it impairs a licensee’s ability to perform the work of a licensed mental health or chemical dependency professional.

(6) “Originating site” means a site in Delaware at which a patient is located at the time health-care services are provided to him or her by means of telemedicine or telehealth, unless the term is otherwise defined with respect to the provision in which it is used; provided, however, notwithstanding any other provision of law, insurers and providers may agree to alternative siting arrangements deemed appropriate by the parties.

(7) “Person” means a corporation, company, association and partnership, as well as an individual.

(8) “Store and forward transfer” means the transmission of a patient’s medical information either to or from an originating site or to or from the provider at the distant site, but does not require the patient being present nor must it be in real time.

(9) “Substantially related” means the nature of the criminal conduct, for which a person was convicted, has a direct bearing on the fitness or ability of the person to perform 1 or more of the duties or responsibilities of a licensed mental health or chemical dependency professional.

(10) “Telehealth” means the use of information and communications technologies consisting of telephones, remote patient monitoring devices or other electronic means which support clinical health care, provider consultation, patient and professional health-related education, public health, health administration, and other services as described in regulation.

(11) “Telemedicine” means a form of telehealth which is the delivery of clinical health-care services by means of real time 2-way audio, visual, or other telecommunications or electronic communications, including the application of secure video conferencing or store and forward transfer technology to provide or support health-care delivery, which facilitate the assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management and self-management of a patient’s health care by a licensee practicing within his or her scope of practice as would be practiced in-person with a patient and with other restrictions as defined in regulation.

66 Del. Laws, c. 128, § 1; 68 Del. Laws, c. 52, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 72 Del. Laws, c. 267, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 262, § 59; 74 Del. Laws, c. 355, §§ 3, 4; 75 Del. Laws, c. 83, § 1; 80 Del. Laws, c. 80, § 14; 81 Del. Laws, c. 340, § 6.