Telemedicine: licensing and other legal issues.

The growth of information technology and telecommunications has created promising opportunities for better, faster, more accessible, barrier-free health care; telemedicine (TM). The feasibility of many TM projects depends on resolving legal issues. Mastering technical issues or providing training remain important benchmarks for implementation of TM, but legal issues constrain progress. This article identifies the key legal issues, maps current legislation, and offers a forecast of necessary steps to expedite the dissemination of TM.