On February 26, the D.C. Department of Health issued a proposed rule on telemedicine, the first official rules to be published by the Agency and the only guidance issued since its 2014 Telemedicine Policy. The proposed rule defines "telemedicine" as the practice of medicine "through the use of health information and technology communications, subject to existing standards of care and conduct," and provides that in general, telemedicine does not include audio-only, email, instant messaging, or facsimile communications. Among other things, the proposed rule would (i) require that telemedicine providers be licensed to practice medicine in D.C. and, for services rendered outside of D.C., comply with any other licensure requirements of the jurisdictions where the provider and patient are physically located; (ii) require that a physician perform a patient evaluation to establish diagnoses and identify underlying conditions before treatment or prescribing medication; and (iii) require that a physician use real-time auditory or real-time visual and auditory communications for the telemedicine encounter if the physician–patient relationship does not include a prior in-person interaction.

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