Innovation in advanced telemedicine is slowly enhancing the workers’ compensation industry and helping injured workers’ return to work sooner. Workers’ who are injured on the job find their life unexpectedly thrown into a tailspin, which can be very distressful. As they try to heal their way back into their job role, it can often be a struggle traveling to attend appointments, showing up for PT sessions, and getting their prescriptions refilled. Telemedicine is proving to save time, money, and improve patient satisfaction by offering virtual interaction that can be done remotely, eliminating the need to leave their home.

What is telemedicine?

Georgia’s State Law defines telemedicine as “…means the practice, by a duly licensed physician or other health care provider acting within the scope of such provider’s practice, of health care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, or transfer of medical data by means of audio, video, or data communications which are used during a medical visit with a patient or which are used to transfer medical data obtained during a medical visit with a patient.”

The purpose of telemedicine is to improve the health status of a patient by linking them to their health care provider using electronic communication (video conference, phone calls, smartphones, email, etc.) on a remote basis. For example, the interaction might be between a doctor, who is delivering clinical care via video chat from his office, and the patient, who is actively participating in the appointment from home several hours away. Another example would be an email interaction between the nurse and patient, discussing the condition of a patient and what specific red flags to be aware of—and then how to respond to the worsening condition.

Telemedicine and Workers’ Compensation Policy

There are several areas of telemedicine that can improve the workers’ compensation process.

•       Triage: A nurse can use a form of electronic communication and initiate a face-to-face meeting with the injured employee moments after the injury has occurred. From there, the nurse will determine what the next steps should be taken. Initiating immediate intervention can help avoid potential future issues and is generally associated with improved patient outcomes.
•       Specialists: Specialists are often only in urban areas and can be difficult for many patients to easily access. With telemedicine, you can efficiently access specialty opinions with no delays or long wait times. The telehealth platform allows providers to work with patients conveniently and remotely.
•       Following up: Telehealth is very beneficial for monitoring a patient’s improvement. Patients can get their prescription refills and avoid the travel and office wait times.

Legal Implications

Telemedicine presents issues with licensing, prescribing, credentialing, treatment, and reimbursement. The complications with licensing occur when a physician is crossing state lines. Last year, 19 states passed legislation adopted by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) called The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which facilitates physician license over state lines. The original licensing state retains the license and would oversee any discipline, but essentially what it does is to allow doctors to deliver care across state lines and reach patients that otherwise would not have the option. Georgia is not one of the 19 states that have passed the legislation at this time. The regulations and laws associated with telemedicine fluctuate between states which causes misunderstandings and confusion.

Employers would find having telemedicine advantageous. It is a quick way to connect the worker and the doctor without traveling any distance. Businesses would see their bottom line improve with a reduction in lost productivity, lower medical costs, and patients who are able to get high quality care from a wide variety of physicians.