The Employers' Association of Entrepreneurs in the Medical Sector welcomes the intention of Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete to create a legislative framework for telemedicine services, but believes that their complete and coherent regulation is necessary to ensure safety and efficiency in the provision of medical services, reads a press release sent by the Employers' Association to AGERPRES on Thursday.
'The ordinance recently put up for public debate contains only two general provisions on telemedicine, which stipulate that the provision of remote medical services will be differentiated depending on the medical specialty and the type of service, with the details to be regulated through implementing rules. At present, at the level of such rules, only teleradiology services are specifically regulated, although discussions on the development of telemedicine in Romania have been ongoing for almost four years. This limited approach raises questions, given that current legislation recognises the existence of six distinct types of telemedicine services,' says the abovementioned press release, agerpres reports.
Under the current legal framework, telemedicine services include: teleconsultation, tele-expertise, tele-assistance, teleradiology, telepathology and telemonitoring.
'Only one of these categories effectively benefits from clear and applicable regulations, while the others remain insufficiently regulated, creating legal uncertainty for providers, medical professionals and patients,' the same source added.
The Association's representatives argue that, in the absence of a complete and coherent regulatory framework, there is a risk that the development of telemedicine services could be significantly slowed, even though they represent a real solution for increasing access to healthcare services, especially for populations in disadvantaged or isolated areas.
Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete announced on Wednesday the launch of a draft ordinance on telemedicine for public consultation, which defines the types of services that can be provided remotely, the conditions under which they may be offered, and the situations in which face-to-face medical consultation remains mandatory.
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