For a digital health startup the legal question does not begin in the middle: before a product reaches the market it must be clear who may provide medical services in Georgia, in what form and through which channel. The Law of Georgia on Medical Activity governs precisely that legal gateway: the scope of regulation, the concept of the activity, the conditions of the right to practise, certification, state supervision and telemedicine. That is also the boundary of this page: institutional licensing of clinic facilities is a separate sphere deliberately left aside, and health data protection has a page of its own.
Article 2 provides that the law governs legal relations between the subject of independent medical activity, the paramedic, state authorities, natural persons and legal persons. For a startup this wording matters: the law touches not only the physician but every participant entering these relations.
What Medical Activity Is
Article 5 defines the concepts. Medical activity is the professional activity of a person trained in medicine, possessing appropriate skills and practical experience, aimed at protecting, preserving and restoring human health through the application of nationally recognised medical standards and ethical norms. Independent medical activity is the professional activity of a person holding higher medical education and a state certificate confirming the right to such activity, who answers for its results under the established procedure.
The terminology names the startup’s plan precisely: a specialist physician is one who has completed residency, and the subject of independent medical activity is a person who conducts it under the procedure established by law. A platform that organises consultations cannot replace the subject — it must build a sound legal construction around its relationship with the subject.
The same article also defines continuing professional development — an inseparable part of medical activity continuing throughout the professional career and keeping the subject’s knowledge aligned with contemporary medicine. For a startup this means the team’s qualifications are not exhausted by a one-off certificate.
Who Holds the Right to Independent Practice
Article 7 sets the conditions: the right belongs to a citizen of Georgia or of a foreign state or a stateless person who has graduated from a higher medical institution holding state accreditation and has received the state certificate under the procedure established by law. The same article adds that the right cannot belong to a person deprived of it by court under the law on combating crimes against sexual freedom and inviolability, and that practice is admissible only in the specialty indicated in the certificate.
For citizens of foreign states the law also recognises temporary medical activity — independent medical activity conducted in the procedure and for the duration established by Georgian legislation. Access to postgraduate education runs through the unified postgraduate qualification examination, whose successful passage gives a graduate of a higher medical institution the right to postgraduate training — stages worth knowing when assembling a team.
The State Certificate
Article 19 describes the institution: the certificate is a state document confirming the right to independent medical activity and determines the medical specialty. It is mandatory only for independent activity, is a document of strict registration, may not be transferred to another person, and is annulled by decision of the issuing authority in the cases provided by law. The form of the certificate is determined by the ministry through a corresponding sublegal act. Certification itself is the process of granting the right, aimed at assessing the ability to conduct the activity.
State Supervision
Article 66 designates the supervisory body: state supervision over medical activity is exercised by the ministry through a council, and the ministry ensures the active participation of university clinics, physicians’ professional associations and other public organisations. For a startup this means the regulator relationship is systemic, not a one-off registration act.
Telemedicine — the Legal Gateway of the Digital Channel
For digital health the central norm is Article 90: the right to receive a medical consultation using telemedicine belongs only to the subject of independent medical activity; only that subject gives recommendations to the patient and answers for the results of services rendered in this form. Telemedicine itself is defined as the remote provision of medical services by a professional using information and communication technologies.
The practical conclusion is twofold: a platform may supply the infrastructure of telemedicine, but the legal subject of the consultation is always a certified physician. And the final element — professional error insurance: under Article 97 the subject has the right to insure professional error that caused the patient pecuniary or non-pecuniary damage, a prominent risk-management instrument that works in the digital model as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the questions health startups ask most often, answered from the norms of the Law on Medical Activity.
May a consultation be given without a physician?
No. The right to give and receive telemedicine consultations belongs only to the subject of independent medical activity, who also answers for the results.
What is the state certificate?
The state document confirming the right to independent practice and determining the specialty; mandatory only for independent activity and non-transferable.
Who supervises the activity?
The ministry, through a council, with the participation of university clinics and professional associations.
Can error be insured?
Yes — the subject may insure professional error causing pecuniary or non-pecuniary damage.
When is the certificate annulled?
By decision of the issuing authority — on the holder’s death or court declaration of death, on the holder’s written request, or where a forged document used to obtain it is discovered.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The lawyers of Legal.ge help health startups build the legal model: we verify physicians’ certificates and specialties, structure the contractual form between platform and subject, design the telemedicine process and assess the insurance scheme. Contact us — and your service will run on legal rails from day one.