On June 3, 2016, the governor of South Carolina signed into law SB1035, the South Carolina Telemedicine Act ("Act"). The Act broadly defines "telemedicine" to mean "the practice of medicine using electronic communications, information technology, or other means between a licensee in one location and a patient in another location with or without an intervening practitioner" and requires that telemedicine services be held to the same standard of care as in-person services. Importantly, the Act allows a physician to establish a physician–patient relationship solely via telemedicine, requiring only that the physician provide an "appropriate evaluation" prior to diagnosing and/or treating the patient. Such evaluation need not be done in person if the licensee employs "technology sufficient to accurately diagnose and treat the patient in conformity with the applicable standard of care." This requires more than a "simple questionnaire" and could require the use of an on-site practitioner who provides physical findings to the remote physician. In addition, the Act explicitly provides that a physician may prescribe for a patient whom the physician has not "personally" examined if the physician has established a physician–patient relationship with the patient solely via telemedicine. The Act largely adopts the current policy of the state medical board.
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