Indeed, telemedicine over the Internet offers many benefits such as increased access to healthcare services, expanded utilization of speciality expertise, rapid availability of patient records, and reduced cost of patient care. Notwithstanding the opportunities and advantages that the Internet may offer, there are many unresolved legal issues surrounding telemedicine over the Internet. This article will examine some of these issues, including licensing issues, confidentiality of patient records, third-party reimbursement, malpractice liability, and general fraud and abuse concerns. While telemedicine is generally defined as the use of telecommunications technology to deliver medical services, various Federal and state laws differ in their definitions of telemedicine, and the scope of the definition determines the applicability of the law to a particular telemedicine practice. Thus, FDA guidelines govern consultations between practitioners over the Internet as well as treatment and advice to patients.
State laws governing telemedicine are still in the formative stages.
An Internet service providing telemedicine across the United States will have to be accountable to such state variations in law. Licensure Issues Technological advances like the Internet and e-mail now allow for the delivery of healthcare services across broad geographic areas. Today, the Internet permits patients to be treated by physicians who may not be in the same state, let alone the same city, as the patient. An increasing number of physicians is practicing across state lines on the Internet. If a physician is not licensed in the state where a patient is located, the physician may face severe sanctions by state regulators or medical boards, including loss of his or her license.