Using a medical conclusion or consultation issued by a foreign physician in Georgia has its own precisely drawn legal trajectory in the Georgian Law on Medical Practice. The trajectory begins at one of two gates: the invitation of a foreign specialist for temporary or one-time services (Article 11), or the recognition of a right obtained outside Georgia (Articles 8 and 9); the remote form — telemedicine — is then added by a separate norm (Article 90).
The First Gate — Temporary or One-Time Service
Article 11 gives a lawful route for inviting a foreign specialist: they may be invited to Georgia for temporary independent medical practice or for a one-time medical service. The ministry, together with the physicians' professional associations, determines the list of specialties for which an invitation is expedient; a temporary invitation is admissible under the statutory list of countries and the list of specialties, while for a one-time service a specialist of any specialty may be invited — subject to the country list. The right is granted by the Professional Development Council, on the recommendation of the professional associations and under the established procedure; the temporary right is granted once, for no more than 1 year, and the council may extend the term. The grounds for suspending or revoking this right are equated with the corresponding regime of the state certificate — the standard is uniform, whichever gate the physician entered through.
The Second Gate — Recognition of a Right Obtained Abroad
Where the case concerns a person who received higher medical education abroad, or one who obtained the right of independent medical practice outside Georgia, Articles 8 and 9 come into operation: the first regulates how higher medical education received abroad is recognized in Georgia, the second — how the right of independent medical practice is granted to a person who received that right abroad. In the practice of preparing a cross-border conclusion, the recognition path begins precisely by determining which gate fits the particular physician: recognition of education, recognition of the right, or the temporary-invitation regime. Choosing the wrong gate is the most common and the most expensive error, because each gate has its own documents, its own authority and its own deadlines.