Page 6 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part Two

SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery

• Informed consent requirements

• Prescription of medications

• Parity of professional and ethical standards for in-person
and online services

As mentioned, each state can define what it considers to be
telemedicine. It is very important for practitioners to understand

what this means in any state where they will be interacting with
patients at a distance. This includes communications within

their own state borders, and especially communications across
state lines. Violating state laws may entail administrative or

criminal penalties, including the risk of practicing medicine
without a license.

Establishing a Physician-Patient Relationship

For many legal purposes, it is critical to know whether a bona

fide provider-patient relationship existed at the time of a given
event. This relationship entails specific duties and accountability.

Under the laws and regulations of many states, you can have
an initial physician-patient contact through telemedicine. You

don’t have to have a pre-existing relationship with the patient.
Once there’s mutual consent between a physician and a patient

to form the relationship, that’s going to create a duty owed to
your new patient. The communication and the consent can be

expressed or implied. Remember to be aware that telemedicine
visits can result from an informal encounter. Particularly in

the telemedicine context, the formation of a physician-patient
relationship may be more subtle and nuanced than one may

think (or desire).

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