Physicians Lawyers

Legal Pulse: Healthcare Edition – Episode 1

Recently in Texas, a notable Telehealth case addressed the issue of the corporate practice of medicine, focusing on whether non-physician-owned companies could employ physicians to provide telemedicine services. The court reaffirmed Texas’s prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine, emphasizing that only licensed physicians or physician-owned entities may directly employ doctors for medical practice, including telehealth.

This decision has significant implications for the medical industry’s adoption of telemedicine technologies, as it restricts business models where technology companies or non-physician organizations own or control telehealth services. As a result, healthcare providers and telemedicine companies operating in Texas must carefully structure their business arrangements to comply with state law, often requiring physician ownership or management of telemedicine practices.

This ruling may influence other states and could slow innovation or expansion of telemedicine models that rely on corporate-owned platforms.

[Play Episode 1]