Licensing Telemedicine: The Need for a National System

Telemedicine Journal and E-Health, Vol. 6, Pp. 429-439, 2000

Posted: 19 Feb 2001

See all articles by Peter D. Jacobson

Peter D. Jacobson

University of Michigan School of Public Health

Elizabeth Selvin

Johns Hopkins University - Bloomberg School of Public Health; University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - School of Public Health

Abstract

The advent of the Information Age has shattered geographic boundaries allowing for extraordinarily increased access to health information and medical practice across state lines. The field of telemedicine is one manifestation of this trend, representing a dramatic departure from the traditional model of the practice of medicine. Yet despite its recent growth, telemedicine remains ensnared in a state-based medical licensure system that places severe limits on its expansion. The regulation of the practice of medicine has traditionally been a state responsibility. State medical boards, operating separately in each of the fifty states, license physicians and other health care professionals as a mechanism for ensuring the quality of medical practice. In this article, we contend that the traditional state-based model of medical practice is inadequate to address the emerging medical practices and future uses of telemedicine technology. We propose a policy of joint state-federal licensure for telemedicine. A federal agency would issue licenses to practice telemedicine across states (and establish national licensure standards), while states would retain jurisdiction to enforce professional practice standards to ensure quality of care. A new joint state-federal model of licensing telemedicine is needed to facilitate its expansion, promoting both the use and development of telemedicine technologies while simultaneously eliminating many of the legal and regulatory ambiguities that plague the present system.

Note: This is a description of the article and not the actual abstract.

JEL Classification: K23

Suggested Citation

Jacobson, Peter D. and Selvin, Elizabeth, Licensing Telemedicine: The Need for a National System. Telemedicine Journal and E-Health, Vol. 6, Pp. 429-439, 2000, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=260224

Peter D. Jacobson (Contact Author)

University of Michigan School of Public Health ( email )

109 Observatory
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029
United States
734-936-0928 (Phone)
734-764-4338 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.sph.umich.edu/~pdj/

Elizabeth Selvin

Johns Hopkins University - Bloomberg School of Public Health ( email )

615 N. Wolfe Street
Department of Epidemiology Box 362
Baltimore, MD 21205
United States

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - School of Public Health ( email )

1415 Washington Heights
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029
United States
734-936-0928 (Phone)

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