The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Legalities of Telemedicine

Legalities of Telemedicine

October 15, 2015 • By Kathy Holliman, MEd

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
anaken2012/shutterstock.com

Image Credit: anaken2012/shutterstock.com

A brief has been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court that, if the court decides to hear the case, could have wide-ranging implications for online medical care and the limits of a physician’s First Amendment right to free speech.

You Might Also Like
  • Telemedicine Company Wins Order Putting Texas Remote Treatment Rule on Hold
  • Practicing Telemedicine Raises Legal Considerations for Rheumatologists
  • New Recommendations Support Effective Use of Telemedicine in Primary Care
Explore This Issue
October 2015
Also By This Author
  • Patient Education Videos Help Them Understand & Manage Their Disease

Medical Advice Via e-Mail

Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Jeff Rowes filed the brief at the end of June on behalf of a Texas veterinarian who was punished by the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners for giving advice about pets via e-mail. Retired and physically disabled, Ron Hines, DVM, PhD, of Brownsville, Texas, was contacted years ago by missionaries in a remote part of Nigeria who wondered how to help a stray dog suffering from distemper. Dr. Hines advised them to look through their medicine cabinets to see if they happened to have anything that he thought might help the dog recover.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

The missionaries had no access to a vet, and they had never met Dr. Hines. Instead, the missionaries contacted him after they came across his online articles about pets—articles on the “Ten Rules for Finding the Right Pet,” “Preventing Dental Problems in Your Cat” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’—Training Your Puppy”—thinking he might be able to give them some advice.

Many people around the world do not live close to a veterinarian. Over a 10-year period, half of Dr. Hines’s clients were not in the U.S. In complex cases when people in North Africa asked him for advice, he often recommended that they take their animal to a Dutch friend and colleague of his practicing in Marbella, Spain. Some complex cases he sent to acquaintances at the veterinary school in Ghent, Belgium. Difficult Middle Eastern cases he referred to friends he trusted at the veterinary school in Bursa, Turkey, Dubai or Irbid, Jordan.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Dr. Hines was not prescribing medicine, but he was giving advice based on his many years of experience. The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners eventually took notice. The Board “threatened to permanently revoke my veterinary license if I ever provided ‘any opinion related to the health and well-being of any animal anywhere in the world’ through e-mail, telephone or other electronic means unless the animal was presented to me in person.”

The Board also fined him, placed him on probation and made him retake the veterinary jurisprudence portion of the licensure exams as punishment for having done so in the past. Dr. Hines had violated a Texas board regulation stating that a vet cannot give advice about a specific animal unless he has physically examined the animal.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Single Page

Filed Under: Legal, Practice Management, Professional Topics, Technology Tagged With: consult, Legal, patient care, Practice Management, rheumatology, Technology, telemedicineIssue: October 2015

You Might Also Like:
  • Telemedicine Company Wins Order Putting Texas Remote Treatment Rule on Hold
  • Practicing Telemedicine Raises Legal Considerations for Rheumatologists
  • New Recommendations Support Effective Use of Telemedicine in Primary Care
  • Telemedicine: One Rheumatologist’s Experience

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2021 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.