In the wake of the challenges posed by COVID induced lockdown, telemedicine has emerged as a solution to provide healthcare facilities. The government has also recently issued guidelines for telemedicine practice. What is in these guidelines? Here is an explainer. With the advancements made in Information and Communication Technology, often abbreviated as ICT, people’s lives have changed drastically. Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that is wreaking havoc across the globe, ICT is playing a vital role in navigating through the situation. Telemedicine or telehealth is one such technological intervention which has gained momentum during COVID induced lockdown. In India, the Ministry of Health issued guidelines on telemedicine practices on 25 March 2020, the first day of national lockdown. It was prepared in collaboration with NITI Aayog. Not only does this prove useful at a time when there are restrictions on movement, but also helps in reducing crowd in hospitals, bringing down the risk of infection. Later, on 12 May 2020, the government published the guidelines in the gazette, incorporating the same into the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. This means consultation through telemedicine by a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 is now permitted as per the notified guidelines. The notification also states that these guidelines are not applicable to the use of digital technology to conduct surgical or invasive procedure remotely. Telemedicine has been given a legal status in India The guidelines have adopted the definition of telemedicine as given by World Health Organization (WHO). The definition is as follows, ‘The delivery of health care services, where distance is a critical factor, by all health care professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continuing education of health care providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities.’ Telehealth is a broader term which includes health and health related services including telemedicine. It is defined as, ‘The delivery and facilitation of health and health-related services including medical care, provider and patient education, health information services, and self-care via telecommunications and digital communication technologies.’ For now, Registered Medical Practitioners are authorized to practice telemedicine To begin with, only RMPs are authorized to practice telemedicine. An RMP is any person who is enrolled in the State Medical Register or Indian Medical Register under the Indian Medical Council Act. All ethical norms and standards applicable for in-person consultation are also applicable in case of telemedicine practice. Currently, RMPs must follow the guidelines issued by the Board of Governors (BoG) of MCI. However, an online course of three years duration will soon be notified by BoG. Once the course is approved and becomes operational, only those RMPs who complete the course will be allowed to consult online. Any mode of communication can be used Consultation can take place through any mode of communication such as audio, video, or texts. A person can access the service through any means such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Hangouts, among many others. There are also dedicated applications and websites for telemedicine services. Depending on the case, it is up to the RMP to decide whether online consultation will suffice or if an in-person consultation is required. Even the mode of communication is left to the discretion of the RMP which in turn is dependent on the patient’s diagnosis/treatment. Consultations should not be anonymous, and patient’s consent is important No telemedicine consultation should be anonymous as per the guidelines. While the RMP must verify and confirm a patient’s basic details such as name, age, contact details, address, etc., the patient should also be provided with the RMP’s credentials and basic contact information. In other words, both patient and the RMP need to know each other’s identity. Patient’s consent is another important issue addressed in the guidelines. If a patient initiates the consultation, it means they have given their consent. Suppose an RMP initiates consultation, then an explicit consent must be recorded from the patient. There are two types of consultation, first consultation and follow up consultation. First consult is when a patient is consulting the RMP for the first time, or after more than six months from the previous consultation, or if they consult the RMP for a different illness.