Although the COVID-19 pandemic has wrecked havoc on our lives, our economy, and our loved ones, there has been at least one positive result that has emerged: the expansion of telemedicine. Many have not felt safe going out in the community to a doctor’s office and have asked for easier access to medical care. With the collapse of “normal” activities in the community and restrictions on the public, many states have opened up telemedicine possibilities by easing rules and restrictions. While the idea was to make it easier for healthcare access during this crisis, more and more voices are demanding that the changes aren’t reversed when the pandemic ends. We are now seeing how much more convenient it is to use telemedicine for both patients and providers and it makes sense to keep these changes in place. Essentially, a number of states have stated that a physician that has a valid license in good standing in at least one other state can provide telemedicine services to patients located in their state. Each state has slightly different nuances to that idea, with some creating “emergency” telemedicine licenses and others simply requiring that the out-of-state physician register with the new state’s medical board.
For our telemedicine practice at Online Weight Loss MD, this could potentially mean that patients located in states other than Michigan or Texas may be able to become patients of our practice. We’ve been receiving messages on a regular basis from interested patients in other states and so we’re really excited about this possibility!
Please stay tuned as we continue to follow this welcome progress in telemedicine! We’ll update our site as we learn about each individual state’s regulations and what that could mean for our existing and future patients!
Stay safe!
–Dr. Free