Legal Issues in Telemedicine Practice (Medico-Legal issues during online consultation)

Legal Issues to be kept in mind before starting telemedicine practice in India. Doctors using telemedicine shall uphold the same professional, clinical, ethical norms, standards, and laws as applicable to a traditional in-person consultation. If the RMP has prescribed medicines, RMP shall issue a prescription as per the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations and shall not contravene the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules.


The Board of Governors in supersession of Medical Council of India will soon make way for the National Medical Commission. However, this transition will not impact the Telemedicine Guidelines and the practice of telemedicine in India. The National Medical Commission Act, 2019 has a savings clause, which will allow the Code of Conduct and Telemedicine Guidelines to survive and remain enforceable until new regulations are made

Patient identification is mandatory during all consultations: All doctors should confirm the patient’s identity to his/her satisfaction by asking patient’s name or age or address or email I.D. or phone number or any other identification that may be reasonable. Doctor also needs to introduce himself with name, designation and registration number. A doctor who provides teleconsultation is required to display his/her registration number provided by respective State Medical Council on his/her prescription, website, electronic communications (WhatsApp/Message/Email etc.) and fee receipts given to his/her patients.

Caregiver identity and authorization should be checked: If the patient is not a minor or is not incapacitated, then a caregiver cannot consult on behalf of the patient unless he or she has a formal authorization such as a signed authority letter by the patient or his/her legal representatives (family members) or, where the caregiver is a family member himself or herself, if he or she has a document that verifies his or her relationship with the patient such as a government identity proof. The caregiver’s identity and authorization should be checked by the doctor before offering teleconsultation. In the case of minors, the identity of the caregiver should be confirmed.

Doctor should maintain patient records of teleconsultation, patient’s personal data should not be disclosed or transferred without the written consent of the patient, doctor should not deny emergency teleconsultation, but limit it for immediate assistance or first aid and refer the patient for in-person consultation, diagnosis is mandatory before prescribing any medicine online and also training on telemedicine.



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