From a specialty offering to a regular component of treatment, telemedicine use in the United States has increased dramatically recently. From around 5% prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, 25% or so of the population accessed telehealth services in 2022. In cases where it was unsafe or not feasible to visit a doctor in person, patients were able to communicate with their doctors across city or state lines through video calls and remote monitoring.
But as telemedicine's importance in mainstream treatment becomes clear, it is running up a basic legal barrier: the patchwork of state-by-state medical licensing regulations controlling where healthcare professionals can practice.
Most U.S. states as well as even federal entities like Medicare temporarily relaxed policies that typically mandate doctors to have a current license in the same state the patient is located in during the height of the pandemic. These emergency protocols let doctors treat out-of-state patients via telehealth to meet urgent needs. Now that those pandemic workarounds have expired, many states have restored pre-pandemic license criteria.
Medical professionals find themselves negotiating a complex web of legislative restrictions: a physician licensed in one state may be abruptly denied access to continue treating a long-standing patient who has moved or is on travel unless the doctor obtains a license in the state of the patient.
Hospitals and telehealth firms are seeking compliance specialists more and more to avoid running afoul of authorities. Many providers have turned to legal assistance, usually a healthcare licensing attorney, to navigate the complex web of licensing regulations and make sure they can continue seeing patients remotely without breaking state laws. These lawyers underline how complicated the telemedicine legal scene has grown by helping doctors handle licensing applications in several countries and interpret rapidly evolving regulations.
State-by-State Licenses Pose Challenges for Virtual Care
A long-established principle lies at the heart of the matter: the regulation of medical practice is carried out at the state level. During a telemedicine visit, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) reminds "a physician must be licensed... in the state where the patient is located." In other words, a doctor treating a patient via laptop or phone is legally acting in the patient's state rather than their own and needs to get authorization from that state.
Providers run professional discipline and even malpractice coverage issues if they treat patients without the proper state license. An out-of-state telehealth consultation could put insurance coverage at risk if the referring doctor does not have the required license, as medical liability insurers usually demand that doctors be licensed in the state where they practice. Designed for conventional in-person practice, this state-by-state license system has grown to be a bureaucratic obstacle in the era of borderless telemedicine.
Toward Solutions: Compacts and Policy Changes Emerge
Amid the regulatory challenges, efforts are underway to make it easier for healthcare providers to practice telemedicine across state lines without undermining state authority. One approach gaining traction is the use of interstate licensing compacts. These agreements between states preserve the state-based licensing system but streamline the process for obtaining multiple licenses.
Some states have also crafted unique solutions. Florida, for instance, passed a law in 2019 that authorizes out-of-state health providers to offer telehealth services to Florida patients without obtaining a full Florida license. Instead, an out-of-state doctor can register with the Florida Department of Health and practice telemedicine for Floridians, as long as they meet certain criteria and agree to Florida’s jurisdiction.
This registration system essentially opens Florida to qualified physicians from elsewhere, which has expanded specialist access for Florida patients. Other states like Georgia issue special “telemedicine licenses” to out-of-state physicians for virtual practice only.
Already, large retail and tech companies are entering the telehealth arena, and employers are contracting telehealth services across state lines, adding momentum to calls for license portability. Some believe these forces will eventually spur change.
In the meantime, healthcare providers are treading carefully. Telemedicine may have erased many geographic distances between doctor and patient, but the legal distance – measured in 50 different state licenses – remains a challenging gap to bridge in this post-pandemic landscape.
Disclaimer:
The information in this article, "Telemedicine Boom Raises Licensing Concerns for Healthcare Providers," is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Telemedicine regulations vary by state and may change over time. Readers should consult legal and healthcare professionals for guidance. The publisher is not responsible for any actions taken based on this content.
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Source: Story.KISSPR.com
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