A recent Supreme Court ruling could potentially allow telemedicine providers to practice without potentially having their legitimacy challenged by state medical licensing boards.
The case itself, North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission, has little to do with digital health. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the NCBD could not prohibit non-dentists from offering teeth-whitening services because prohibiting them from practicing violated anti-trust laws, according to MobiHealthNews.
However, this could aid telemedicine providers because they face similar opposition from existing state medical associations. The precedent set by the teeth whitening case could allow telehealth companies to object when state licensing boards block them from offering their services, according to the report.
States are increasingly passing legislation that expands telemedicine parity, some including provisions that require licensing boards to recognize telemedicine. The Federation of State Medical Boards proposed a compact last summer that would allow physicians to be licensed in multiple states, allowing for easier use of telemedicine among states, according to the report.
The ruling may not specifically address telemedicine, but its precedent may make telemedicine providers more able to practice because the state medical boards cannot explicitly approve or deny their right to practice without state government oversight, according to the report.