Telemedicine in Missouri: Law, Policies, Rules, and Regulations
The State of Missouri first enacted its telemedicine parity law in 2013. Since then, Missouri has worked towards improving the accessibility of...
9 min read
Alvin Amoroso : 2/8/22 6:10 AM
In the modern healthcare landscape, the terms "telehealth" and "telemedicine" are frequently used, often interchangeably. While both describe the delivery of healthcare services using technology, they are not synonyms. For healthcare providers, understanding the difference between telehealth and telemedicine is crucial for navigating billing, state laws, and the scope of practice. In short, telemedicine specifically refers to remote clinical services for diagnosing and treating patients, while telehealth is a broader umbrella term that includes all telemedicine services plus a wide range of non-clinical activities, such as provider education, administrative meetings, and patient health portals.
This comprehensive guide will break down the telehealth vs telemedicine debate, providing clarity on definitions, exploring the various service modalities, detailing the complex legal landscape, and looking toward the future of remote healthcare. By understanding these 7 critical distinctions, you can ensure your practice is compliant, efficient, and positioned for success.
To grasp the core of the telehealth vs telemedicine distinction, we must first establish a clear definition of telemedicine. At its heart, what is telemedicine? It is the practice of using telecommunications technology to provide direct, remote clinical care to patients. Think of it as a virtual house call or a digital office visit.
The primary goal of telemedicine is to diagnose, treat, and monitor a patient's medical conditions from a distance. It's about replicating the key functions of a traditional, in-person clinical encounter.
The concept of telemedicine is older than many realize. While its modern form is powered by the internet, the idea of remote diagnosis dates back to the 19th century. An 1879 article in The Lancet described a physician using a telephone to listen to a baby's cough, successfully diagnosing croup without an office visit. This early example captures the essence of telemedicine: leveraging available technology to overcome geographical separation for clinical purposes.
The 1950s and 60s saw the advent of more advanced technology, with universities and medical centers experimenting with transmitting videos, images, and medical data. These early pioneers laid the groundwork for the robust systems we use today, which have been accelerated by the widespread availability of high-speed internet and sophisticated software platforms.
Telemedicine is exclusively focused on clinical activities. The services provided must directly relate to a patient's health status.
Key Clinical Functions of Telemedicine Include:
Real-World Telemedicine Examples:
Now, let's broaden our view to answer the question, what is telehealth? If telemedicine is a specific tool, telehealth is the entire toolbox. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other major health organizations officially recognize telehealth as a more encompassing term.
Telehealth includes all the clinical services of telemedicine, but it also covers a vast array of non-clinical, health-related activities. It's about using technology to support and enhance the entire healthcare ecosystem, not just direct patient care.
The key difference between telehealth and telemedicine lies in this expansion into non-clinical areas. These activities are vital for a functioning healthcare system but don't involve the direct diagnosis or treatment of a patient.
Key Non-Clinical Functions of Telehealth Include:
Real-World Telehealth Examples:
To make the distinction crystal clear, here is a summary of the 7 critical differences between telehealth and telemedicine for healthcare providers.
Distinction |
Telemedicine (The Specific Tool) |
Telehealth (The Entire Toolbox) |
1. Scope |
Narrow & Clinical: Exclusively focused on remote patient diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring. |
Broad & Comprehensive: Includes all telemedicine services plus non-clinical activities like education and administration. |
2. Primary Goal |
To deliver clinical care and improve a patient's health status directly. |
To support and enhance the entire healthcare infrastructure and promote overall community health. |
3. Services Provided |
Virtual visits, e-prescribing, remote diagnosis of conditions. |
Continuing medical education, provider consultations, health administration meetings, patient portals. |
4. Who Uses It |
Primarily licensed clinical providers treating patients (e.g., Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, PAs). |
All stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem (e.g., Clinicians, Administrators, Educators, Patients, Public Health Officials). |
5. Core Question |
"Can I treat this patient remotely?" |
"How can technology improve this health-related process?" |
6. Real-World Analogy |
The surgeon performing a remote-guided operation. |
The entire digital hospital system, including the surgeon's tools, training simulators, and administrative dashboards. |
7. Regulatory Focus |
Laws often focus on establishing a patient-provider relationship, prescribing rules, and standard of care. |
Policies are broader, often covering data privacy (HIPAA), technology standards, and reimbursement for a wider range of services. |
The Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) provides a useful framework for understanding how telehealth and telemedicine services are delivered. These four modalities represent the different ways technology connects participants in the healthcare ecosystem.
This is what most people picture when they think of telemedicine. Live video involves a real-time, two-way audio-visual connection between two or more parties. It's designed to mimic an in-person conversation as closely as possible.
This modality involves collecting medical information (like images, videos, or lab results) and then sending it to another provider or specialist for evaluation at a later time. There is no real-time interaction.
RPM uses digital technologies to collect and transmit health data from a patient in one location to their provider in another. It enables continuous or frequent monitoring outside of a clinical setting.
mHealth refers to healthcare and public health information and services delivered through mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. It encompasses a massive range of applications.
While health organizations provide clear definitions, the most critical factor for any practicing provider is state law. Regulations surrounding remote care vary significantly from state to state, and these laws often use the terms "telehealth" and "telemedicine" in very specific ways that have major practical implications.
The subtle differences in definitions by organizations like the WHO or ATA don't carry the force of law. What truly matters are the statutes, rules, and medical board policies in the state where the patient is located at the time of service. These laws dictate:
Let's examine how three different states handle the telehealth vs telemedicine distinction to illustrate the complexity.
Texas state law creates a very clear and distinct separation between the two terms.
Michigan takes the opposite approach. The state has effectively eliminated the term "telemedicine" from its laws and replaced it with "telehealth" as the all-encompassing term.
Georgia's laws acknowledge the subtle difference but focus more on the method of delivery.
The adoption of remote care has been accelerated dramatically and is now a permanent fixture of the healthcare system. Several key trends are shaping its future evolution.
Navigating the complexities of telehealth vs telemedicine and implementing a successful virtual care strategy can be daunting. Curogram is designed to make it simple. Our robust, HIPAA-compliant platform provides everything you need to launch a virtual clinic in under 48 hours, regardless of your state's specific definitions.
Our platform is built to mimic the workflows you already use, making the transition seamless for your staff and providers. We believe technology should solve problems, not create them.
Here are a few reasons why healthcare practices love Curogram:
The primary difference is scope. Telemedicine refers specifically to remote clinical services provided by a licensed practitioner to diagnose, treat, or monitor a patient. Telehealth is a broader term that includes all telemedicine services plus a wide range of non-clinical activities, such as continuing medical education for providers, administrative meetings, and patient education portals.
Telehealth refers to the comprehensive use of electronic and telecommunications technology to support and promote all aspects of long-distance health care, patient and professional health education, public health, and health administration. It is the all-encompassing umbrella term for the entire field of remote health services.
While they are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, they are not the same concept from a legal and regulatory perspective. Healthcare organizations and state laws make a clear distinction. Using the terms correctly is important for billing, compliance, and understanding the legal scope of practice. Telemedicine is a subset of telehealth.
The best definition of telemedicine is the use of telecommunications technology by a licensed medical professional to provide clinical healthcare to a patient from a distance. Its core purpose is to exchange valid medical information for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease and injuries, aiming to improve a patient's clinical health status.
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