Telemedicine compliance in Georgia is a systemic question: who, how and under whose supervision must deliver a remote service. The answer lies in five articles of the Law on Medical Practice — Article 90 establishes the lawful conditions of the service, Articles 91 and 92 the data-protection block, Article 56 the documentation standard, and Article 66 the state supervisory body. Foreign compliance frameworks do not operate directly in the Georgian system — the page is carried by the Georgian law.
The lawful conditions of the service
Article 90 determines three pillars: the right to receive a medical consultation by means of telemedicine belongs only to a subject of independent medical practice; on the basis of a consultation received in this way, only the same subject gives recommendations to the patient; and responsibility for the results of the service is borne by the subject who directly issues the recommendation. The first test of compliance is precisely this architecture: the organiser, the recommender and the responsible party are one certified person.
The data-protection block
Under Article 91, in the use of telemedicine means the protection of the confidentiality of information about the patient is incumbent on the subject of independent medical practice, and, at the patient's demand, data on identity, state of health and private life may be transmitted anonymously. Under Article 92, technical personnel participating in the transmission of information are prohibited from disclosing information about the consultation received and are obliged to protect the confidentiality of information about the patient's state of health. The second test of compliance is this reduction of access: the medical content is needed only by the consulting physician, and the technical personnel is only a channel.
The documentation standard
Article 56 turns medical records into the third pillar of compliance: the subject is obliged to keep medical records for every patient in the established manner. The records must be drawn up in the state language, clearly and comprehensibly, and a foreign specialist's record must be translated; they must be complete — every part, including the patient's personal, social and medical data, is filled in fully; information is recorded in a timely manner and within defined periods; the records adequately reflect every detail of the service; and every new part is certified by signature. The storage rules of the records must also be observed, and communication to a third person occurs only in the cases provided by the law. Every new part of the record is certified by a clear signature, according to the existing rule. Every episode of a remote consultation must be recorded under this standard.