The board initially implemented the rule in January, but a county judge approved a temporary restraining order filed by Dallas-based telehealth provider Teladoc, according to the Texas Tribune. The board is now considering a formal rule to require the “face-to-face” visits.
The Texas Medical Association has expressed conditional support for telemedicine, and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ health plans cover telemedicine visits. For a state with many rural areas and many residents with limited access to medical specialists, telemedicine is useful for consultations, according to the report.
“They’ve been having this fight in the background for years now,” Tara Kepler, an expert on telemedicine law based in Plano, Texas, who represents telemedicine companies but not Teladoc, told the Texas Tribune. “The industry is exploding faster than they can even write the rules.”
