For telepsychiatry the decisive factor is the confidentiality block, and no separate norm for telepsychiatry exists in Georgia — this must be said plainly. The operative framework is four articles of the Law on Medical Practice: Article 90 — even a psychiatric consultation comes only from a subject of independent medical practice; Article 91 — the telemedicine specifics and anonymisation at the patient's demand; Article 48 — the general medical confidentiality standard; and Article 49 — the prohibition of interference in private and family life. Foreign telepsychiatry standards are not Georgian qualifications — the page is carried by the Georgian law.
The subject of the consultation and responsibility
The three conditions of Article 90 extend to mental-health consultations as well: the right to receive a 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 one who directly issues the recommendation. In the psychiatric field this is particularly significant: both the diagnosis and the recommendation are tied to the name of one responsible physician.
The telemedicine specifics and anonymisation
Article 91 determines the design of a telepsychiatry service: 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. Mental-health data are precisely the category whose transmission demands the greatest care — and here the law gives the patient a special instrument: at the patient's demand, data on identity, state of health and private life may be transmitted anonymously by means of telemedicine. For telepsychiatry this is a decisive possibility: the patient can receive a consultation in such a way that the means of identification are removed from the data at the patient's own initiative.
The general confidentiality standard
Article 48 regulates confidentiality with a temporal extension: the subject is obliged, apart from the cases provided by the legislation, to protect the confidentiality of information about the patient's state of health and private life both during the exercise of medical practice and after its termination, both during the patient's life and after death. This means that the secret of a psychiatric episode does not depart with the end of the relationship — it outlives even death.
The rule of interference in private life
Article 49 cuts off the possibilities of interference: the subject has the right to interfere in the patient's family and private life if the interference is necessary for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care of the disease — and in this case the patient's consent is required; if non-interference poses a serious threat to the health or life of the patient's family members; or if violence is being exercised against the patient or a family member and there is a danger of its repetition. In telepsychiatric practice this norm bounds how far the physician may explore the patient's environment beyond the consultation itself.
The design of a telepsychiatric service thus requires three documentary decisions: first, a rule of anonymous reception that communicates to the patient, in a separate and comprehensible form, the possibility granted by Article 91; second, a register of access showing who touched the data and when; third, a form of the confidentiality duty for every participant, including the technical personnel. In mental-health services these three documents are precisely the minimal framework that translates the four articles into operational language.
The boundaries of the confidentiality norm are defined in the law itself: the subject of independent medical activity must protect the confidentiality of information on the patient’s state of health and private life both during the pursuit of the medical activity and after its termination, both during the patient’s life and after death; disclosure is admissible only in the cases contemplated by law — including with the patient’s consent. Where telemedicine means are used, the duty of confidentiality again rests on the same subject, and at the patient’s demand data on identity, state of health and private life may be transmitted anonymously — this right flows precisely from the specifics of the remote format, and in practice a written fixation of the anonymity rule is its best confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
Below are the questions most frequently raised about telepsychiatry.
Does a separate telepsychiatry norm exist?
No — Articles 90, 91, 48 and 49 apply; no separate rule exists, and this must be said plainly.
Is an anonymous consultation possible?
Yes — under Article 91, at the patient's demand mental-health data are transmitted anonymously by telemedicine.
For how long does the secret last?
Under Article 48 — after the termination of the relationship and after the patient's death as well.
When is interference in the family possible?
Under Article 49 — by the necessity of treatment with the patient's consent, a serious threat to the family, or a risk of repetition of violence.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The specialists of Legal.ge build the legal framework of telepsychiatry services on Articles 90, 91, 48 and 49: we assemble the anonymisation mechanism, fix the boundaries of interference and draft the documentary form of the confidentiality duty. Submit a request on this page and receive the framework of your service.