The ARC-PA just released its 6th Edition Standards, effective September 1, 2025, and there’s a major shift PA programs need to act on:
Telehealth is now a standardized part of PA training — both didactic and clinical.
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has officially ushered telehealth into the mainstream of PA education. In the newly approved 6th Edition Standards for PA programs (effective September 1, 2025), programs are now expected to include instruction in providing medical care through telehealth as part of the didactic curriculum. This balance ensures students gain competency in virtual care without sacrificing in-person clinical experience.
For the first time, ARC-PA is formally allowing:
- Up to 50% of clinical rotations in any specialty to be delivered via telehealth
- Up to 100% of behavioral and mental health rotations to be conducted remotely
- Added telehealth/telemedicine to didactic instruction
This is more than a policy update, it’s a clear signal: virtual care is no longer optional. It’s now a core competency.
Why This Matters
Telemedicine is how today’s patients engage with healthcare. Employers expect new grads to be fluent in digital care delivery. And with clinical site shortages affecting nearly every program, virtual rotations offer a powerful solution.
Remote precepting opens access to hard-to-place students, specialties with limited availability, and underserved populations. It allows flexibility without compromising clinical quality, all while future proofing your curriculum.
Telehealth rotations can help solve a growing issue in PA education: the clinical placement bottleneck. With ongoing provider shortages, many programs struggle to find enough preceptors especially in rural or competitive areas. Students often face long travel or delayed graduation. Telemedicine removes those barriers. A student in a remote area can still complete dermatology or psych rotations virtually. During COVID, it was the only way some students stayed on track. Moving forward, telehealth offers a flexible, scalable way to meet clinical hour requirements without sacrificing quality.
MomentMD: The Turnkey Partner for Telehealth Rotations
MomentMD is already helping PA programs meet these new standards with live, patient-facing virtual rotations across primary care, psych, women’s health, pediatrics, dermatology, and more.
We’ve designed our platform for accredited programs that need structure, documentation, and outcomes — not guesswork.
Case Study Highlights:
- Bay Path University partnered with MomentMD to add virtual psych and primary care rotations. Students completed their hours on time, and the program expanded its preceptor network nationally without added staffing.
- Dominican University of California placed multiple cohorts in telehealth rotations, logging 7,000+ patient hours and graduating every student on time even in the middle of statewide site shortages.
- North Greenville University implemented a structured didactic learning model, combining live virtual training with real world psychiatric encounters.
These aren’t workarounds. They’re scalable, accredited clinical solutions that meet ARC-PA expectations and keep programs ahead of the curve.
Your Next Move
With ARC-PA officially on board, now is the time to evolve your clinical model.
Partnering with MomentMD means:
- You retain full oversight
- We handle scheduling, documentation, and compliance
- Your students gain critical telemedicine skills and on-time clinical completion
- Prepares students for the real-world demands of hybrid care
- Expands clinical training options
- Future-proofs your curriculum
- Aligns with equity and access goals
Whether you’re struggling to place students or proactively planning for the future, we’re ready to help.
👉 Read the ARC-PA Announcement
👉 Explore Telehealth Rotations with MomentMD
Let’s lead the next era of PA education together.