President sanctions law that regulates the practice of telehealth in the country

President Jair Bolsonaro sanctioned a law that authorizes and regulates the practice of telehealth throughout Brazil. The sanction was published in today’s Official Gazette (28). The measure, according to the Ministry of Health, will make it possible to intensify the remote monitoring of patients and expand medical care. The practice of telehealth, which “encompasses the remote provision of services related to all professions in the health area regulated by Organs competent bodies of the federal Executive Branch”, had been allowed on an emergency basis in Brazil in the context of the covid-19 pandemic, but needed to be regulated. Care Now, with the presidential sanction, it can be exercised as long as it obeys some determinations such as that it be carried out only with the patient’s consent. If the patient refuses virtual care, face-to-face care must be guaranteed by a health professional. To practice telehealth, the professional must register with the Regional Council of Medicine (CRM) of origin. It will not be necessary to register in the CRM of the state in which the patient is treated. The registration of intermediary companies of virtual services is also mandatory, as well as the registration of a medical technical director of these companies in the CRM of the states where they are headquartered. According to the Ministry of Health, the measure could generate health cost savings, as it should facilitate the screening of cases. In addition, it should enable new remote service structures and the development of national technology, generating jobs and moving the economy.

Agência Brasil