Page 20 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part Two

SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery

The facilitator is an individual often affiliated with a local

system of care or a parent or legal guardian of the patient.
The facilitator must be physically present with the patient

and is responsible for verifying the identity and location
of the patient and for the origination, collection, and

transmission of data in the form of images or clinical data
to the physician performing the evaluation remotely.

Prescription of Medications

Prescribing laws and rules have a special status within the

regulation of medical practice. These vary greatly among the
states and may have provisions that differ by drug, specialty, and

setting. It is essential that practitioners who intend to prescribe
or dispense drugs for patients who are not seen in person—

whether in-state or out-of-state—fully inform themselves of the
applicable rules. Particularly for controlled substances, there

may be specific restrictions for initial prescriptions or managing
prescriptions by telemedicine. The high level of legal attention

being focused on fraud, abuse, diversion, and inappropriate
prescribing of scheduled drugs, combined with a perception

that electronic communication may facilitate these risks,
makes this an area of particular peril for careless practitioners.

Consider the following case example.

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