Articles Posted in Telehealth

Our healthcare and business law firm works with many physicians and other providers with their medical practices, including integrating telemedicine services into their practice and/or creating a full telemedicine practice.  Our firm previously posted Can You Create a Patient-Provider Relationship Through Telemedicine? on March 12, 2024, which gives an overview of how a patient-provider relationship can be created in Georgia through telemedicine. We have recently encountered other issues related to telemedicine, including whether good faith exams can be offered via telemedicine in the med spa context. This post discusses updates that the Georgia Composite Medical Board has announced related to establishing a patient-provider relationship via telemedicine.

The telemedicine laws and rules have gone through major changes since the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the laws and rules continue to be in a state of flux.  The federal rules govern prescribing controlled substances, but the majority of telemedicine rules are governed by state law.  Generally, before a provider can prescribe any drug, the provider must have an established patient-provider relationship.  An open question in many states we’ve continued to research is-Can you create a patient-provider relationship through telemedicine?  This updated post dives into this question with updated insight, with a focus on Georgia rules.  If you need assistance integrating telemedicine into your practice or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.littlehealthlaw.com.

Each state is going to answer this question differently.  Let’s dive into the rules in Georgia as an example of how to think through this question.

First, it’s important to understand what telehealth modalities are permitted in a given state.  In Georgia, for instance, the definition of telemedicine is found Continue reading ›

Our healthcare and business law firm works with healthcare providers and businesses to open cosmetic medical and wellness spas.  The medical spa entity has grown drastically over the past few years.  Some states and medical boards have developed laws and rules governing medical and wellness spas.  As medical and wellness spas continue to grow, we can anticipate more laws and rules governing medical and wellness spas.  On July 19, 2023, the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners (“Medical Board”) published changes to the rules governing the “Use of Lasers and Other Modalities,” which can be found in Chapter 540-X-11 of the Rules of the Medical Board.  The rule is broken down into many different categories.  A previous post provided an overview of the rule changes that are potentially applicable to medical spa practitioners.  This post focuses on important rules that apply to Non-Laser Skin Rejuvenation procedures.  If you have a question about the Alabama Medical Board’s rules or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare and business law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.littlehealthlaw.com.

As mentioned in the previous blog post, the use of Lasers/Pulsed Light Devices (“LLBDs”) for cosmetic purposes is considered “the practice of medicine” in Alabama.  Level 1 and Level 2 Delegates can perform certain LLBDs only if allowed by the rules, which go fully into effect on July 17, 2024.  This post focuses on the new rules governing Non-Laser Skin Rejuvenation. Continue reading ›

At the beginning of COVID-19, telemedicine rules were softened on the state and federal level.  In a previous blog post, we discussed the softened Georgia rules during the COVID-19 State of Emergency in Georgia.   Unlike the federal Public Health Emergency that was recently lifted, the Georgia State of Emergency was lifted in early 2022.  But now that both the state and federal emergency-statuses are lifted, what does that mean for the telemedicine prescribing exceptions available during COVID-19?  This post intends to answer that question.  If you have questions about telemedicine rules or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare and business law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.littlehealthlaw.com.

Although Georgia has clear requirements for when telemedicine is generally allowed and what the general requirements are (which must, of course, be followed if prescribing is allowed), the only restriction on prescribing via telemedicine is with pain management drugs and controlled substances. Continue reading ›