Since its inception more than 50 years ago, the scope of telemedicine has grown to include simultaneous and non-simultaneous consultations and interactions for patients in remote and urban regions. Telemedicine services are provided using various telecommunication channels and internet technology. In light of the seemingly unlimited opportunities to provide telemedicine capabilities, practitioners and entrepreneurs must navigate the many risks and challenges that accompany the reliance on telemedicine practices and comply with an the increasing number of regulations.

There is no single definition for telemedicine but according to some bodies, for example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, telemedicine is defined as the provision of medical services to patients by doctors from a distance through electronic communications. According to The American Telemedicine Association, telemedicine is defined as “the use of medical information exchanged from one sit to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status.”

Telemedicine attorneys associated with law firms appearing on Modern healthcare’s annual ranking are flooded with new business opportunities as the healthcare sector continues to transform and grow, firm leaders say

“The healthcare sector is not getting any simpler,” said Bernstein Stephen, global head of McDermott Will & Emery. The firm finished ninth on the list, employing 152 health attorneys in 2014 who practice health law half their time, up from 148 the previous year.

More and more health care providers are taking up cost reduction as a major priority now more than ever, and their efforts include migrating to telemedicine, Bernstein said. Health care givers and institutions need the guidance of telemedicine attorneys to ensure that telemedicine services are delivered in a secure manner within the laid out rules and regulations. Due to the potential of telemedicine traveling across state lines, questions about which state laws and professional licensures apply normally rise. Some practitioners, for example, are obtaining licenses in more than one state, Bernstein said. New telemedicine projects are coming to McDermott at a rate of a couple a week, he said. This shows the high rate of the growing demand for telemedicine attorneys on a weekly basis.

As the health industry continue to change daily, a reduction of clients in some areas have been noted. Many independent doctors and physicians are opting to join groups and hospital institutions that have already satisfied the terms of existing regulations and laws thanks to the assistance of telemedicine attorneys.