Licensing Telemedicine: The Need for a National System
Telemedicine Journal and E-Health, Vol. 6, Pp. 429-439, 2000
Posted: 19 Feb 2001
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: Suggested Citation