Legal Interpretation of Face-to-Face Consultation in Telemedicine

Yasumitsu Tomioka
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Yasumitsu Tomioka: Tokai University School of Medicine, Japan

International Journal of E-Health and Medical Communications (IJEHMC), 2012, vol. 3, issue 1, 22-32

Abstract: In legal studies on telemedicine, the requirement of face-to-face consultation emerges as a major concern. Although the legal basis of the “face-to-face consultation” requirement is often assumed to come from Medical Practitioners Law Article 20, it is actually from a notice issued on 24/12/1997 in Health Policy Publication No. 1075 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). In this article, through analysis of how the court made a judgment in regard to “face-to-face consultation” in previous rulings related to the Medical Practitioners Law Article 20, the authors clarify that judgment is based on these “notices”. In addition, through analysis of what policy on telemedicine the MHLW announces in the government ministries’ response issued on 20/10/2009 to the questionnaire from the members of a task force in the IT Strategic Headquarters, it is ascertained that interpretation of the “face-to-face patient care” in telemedicine becomes broader than the “notices”. This paper accelerates the broader interpretation and establishes a legal system defining telemedicine independently.

Date: 2012
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