LS&HC Horizons 2023 - Flipbook - Page 18
Hogan Lovells | 2023 Life Sciences and Health Care Horizons | Digital Health and AI
Global virtual medicine
Demand for telemedicine is surging across the
globe. Health care providers increasingly reach
across sovereign borders using technology
to provide medical services directly to
foreign patients. Physicians often ask: May I
diagnose and treat a patient in another country
entirely via telecommunication platforms?
May I deliver a remote second opinion to a
physician in another country to benefit a local
patient there?
While international activity is nothing new for
hospitals, universities, research institutions,
and health care companies, modern technology
has forever changed the delivery model.
Although the practice of medicine is regulated
across the globe, the practice of telemedicine
does not always fit within the traditional areas
of law and regulation applicable to the medical
profession. And where countries do regulate
telemedicine, such laws do not necessarily
address the circumstances in which a foreign
provider may render remote services into the
country. As providers increasingly seek to
serve patients and clinicians across borders,
counsel must address difficult questions of
foreign regulation.
Remote medical practice raises myriad
complex topics:
• Practice of medicine: physicians and
institutions may need to be licensed in the
jurisdiction of the patient in order to lawfully
provide virtual medical services from a
different jurisdiction.
• Marketing: many countries regulate
advertisements for medical services,
including virtual consultations.
• Privacy and data protection: regulation of
patient data and consent requirements vary
significantly from country to country.
• Billing and reimbursement: virtual medical
services may or may not be covered and
reimbursed by government and other third
party payers.
Other challenges include liability and
malpractice, e-commerce regulation,
and tax compliance.
As global regulation strains to keep pace with
modern practice of medicine, the regulatory
scene is a blurry patchwork from country
to country.
William F. Ferreira
Partner, Washington, D.C.
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