Some states resist telemedicine
Federal judge rules against Texas restriction
Video and telephone visits with doctors — the practice known as telemedicine — have survived one of their biggest legal challenges in Texas, but hurdles remain in Arkansas and some other states.
The challenges persist even though telemedicine is gaining widespread support among major employers and many consumers.
A federal judge ruled late last week that a Texas Medical Board provision prohibiting doctors from diagnosing patients over the phone was probably anti-competitive and blocked the board from enforcing it. The rule was set to take effect today.
The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), which represents the country’s largest employers, including General Motors and Walmart, on employee benefits issues, is directing a new state telemedicine lobbying effort that includes patient groups and consumer advocates. The goal is to convince state legislatures that telemedicine is needed to keep health care costs down and that state laws need to be more consistent in what they allow.
“The risk will fester in Texas, as long as the threat from the board’s court case continues and other states also impose hurdles to the use of telemedicine,” says Annette Guarisco, CEO of the industry committee. “Uniformly, employees really like it as a benefit, and that is why employers don’t want any curtailment at this point.”
The Texas Medical Association says it pushed the state medical board to require in-person visits.
“The telephonic providers don’t have to know the guy on the other end. There’s no follow-up procedure and no underlying relationship,” says Russell Thomas, a family physician in Eagle Lake, Texas. “The issue is the patient needs to be seen.”
Idaho passed a law that loosened its requirement that doctors know their patients, but Arkansas still has such a mandate.
“The rest of the country is really moving forward fairly aggressively to promote telehealth legislation and regulation,” said Jason Gorevic, CEO of Teladoc, which filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Texas Medical Board in April for restricting its ability to do telephone consultations.