Resources & Information

(Adopted July 2010) (Revised November 2014)

“Telemedicine” is the practice of medicine using electronic communication, information technology or other means between a licensee in one location and a patient in another location with or without an intervening health care provider.

The Board recognizes that technological advances have made it possible for licensees to provide medical care to patients who are separated by some geographical distance. As a result, telemedicine is a potentially useful tool that, if employed appropriately, can provide important benefits to patients, including: increased access to health care, expanded utilization of specialty expertise, rapid availability of patient records, and the reduced cost of patient care.

The Board cautions, however, that licensees practicing via telemedicine will be held to the same standard of care as licensees employing more traditional in-person medical care. A failure to conform to the appropriate standard of care, whether that care is rendered in-person or via telemedicine, may subject the licensee to potential discipline by this Board. It is the Board’s position that there is not a separate standard of care applicable to telemedicine. Telemedicine providers will be evaluated according to the standard of care applicable to their area of specialty. Additionally, telemedicine providers are expected to adhere to current standards for practice improvement and monitoring of outcomes

The Board provides the following considerations to its licensees as guidance in providing medical services via telemedicine:

Training of Staff
Staff involved in the telemedicine visit should be trained in the use of the telemedicine equipment and competent in its operation.

Evalustions and Examinations
Licensees using telemedicine technologies to provide care to patients located in North Carolina must provide an appropriate evaluation prior to diagnosing and/or treating the patient. This evaluation need not be in-person if the licensee employs technology sufficient to accurately diagnose and treat the patient in conformity with the applicable standard of care.

Other evaluations may also be considered appropriate if the licensee is at a distance from the patient, but a licensed health care professional is able to provide various physical findings that the licensee needs to complete an adequate assessment. On the other hand, a simple questionnaire without an appropriate evaluation may be a violation of law and/or subject the licensee to discipline by the Board.1

Licensee-Patient Relationship
The Board stresses the importance of proper patient identification in the context of the telemedicine encounter. Failure to verify the patient’s identity may lead to fraudulent activity or the improper disclosure of confidential patient information. The licensee using telemedicine should verify the identity and location of the patient and should be prepared to inform the patient of the licensee’s name, location and professional credentials. A diagnosis should be established through the use of accepted medical practices, i.e., a patient history, mental status evaluation, physical examination and appropriate diagnostic and laboratory testing. Licensees using telemedicine should also ensure the availability for appropriate follow-up care and maintain a complete medical record that is available to the patient and other treating health care providers.

Prescribing
Licensees are expected to practice in accordance with the Board’s Position Statement “Contact with patients before prescribing.” It is the position of the Board that prescribing controlled substances for the treatment of pain by means of telemedicine is not consistent with the stand of care.
Licensees prescribing controlled substances by means of telemedicine for other conditions should obey all relevant federal and state laws and are expected to participate in the Controlled Substances Reporting System.

Medical Records
The licensee treating a patient via telemedicine must maintain a complete record of the telemedicine patient’s care according to prevailing medical record standards. The medical record serves to document the analysis and plan of an episode of care for future reference. It must reflect an appropriate evaluation of the patient’s presenting symptoms, and relevant components of the electronic professional interaction must be documented as with any other encounter.

The licensee must maintain the record’s confidentiality and disclose the records to the patient consistent with state and federal law. If the patient has a primary care provider and a telemedicine provider for the same ailment, then the primary care provider’s medical record and the telemedicine provider’s record constitute one complete patient record. Licensees practicing via telemedicine will be held to the same standards of professionalism concerning medical records transfer and communication with the primary care provider and medical home as those licensees practicing via traditional means.

Licensure
The practice of medicine is deemed to occur in the state in which the patient is located. Therefore, any licensee using telemedicine to regularly provide medical services to patients located in North Carolina should be licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina.3 Licensees need not reside in North Carolina, as long as they have a valid, current North Carolina license.

North Carolina licensees intending to practice medicine via telemedicine technology to treat or diagnose patients outside of North Carolina should check with other state licensing boards. Most states require physicians to be licensed, and some have enacted limitations to telemedicine practice or require or offer a special registration. A directory of all U.S. medical boards may be accessed at the Federation of State Medical Boards Web site: http://www.fsmb.org/directory_smb.html.