Making sense of murky telehealth regulations
This week HBI tries to make sense of the complicated rules that govern telehealth across the world.
The infographic breaks down which different activities are allowed or forbidden by law in various different international countries. Or, more commonly, where the laws remain unclear over what exactly healthcare professionals working at a distant are allowed to do.
HBI has taken four main components of primary care and assessed if the doctor is allowed to perform that same activity remotely. Those are consulting with a patient remotely, diagnosing them, prescribing medicines and issuing sick notes. The main takeaway is that a lot of the rules around telehealth, particularly when it comes to prescriptions and medical certificates remain unclear.
Sources frequently tell HBI that the main barrier to entering any market with telemedicine is difficult around regulations. They also say that where many of these activities aren’t available, the market suffers because these are the main services that customers use telehealth for.
HBI reported just last week that Dubai Health Authority had relaxed it regulations around telehealth and provided guidance on what exactly is allowed. Markets are waiting for many other governing authorities in other countries to do the same.
For more information on the telehealth market, including market sizes, growth rates and a list of players, see the HBI Intelligence Centre.
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