Brazil to turn telemedicine into telehealth. A change more than just in name.

The Social Affairs Committee in Brazil’s Senate approved new regulations for telemedicine on Wednesday, replacing the emergency permissions brought in during the Covid pandemic that allowed doctor’s visits to take place over the internet.

Beyond establishing basic rules for the remote care and treatment of patients, the bill now on its way to a Senate floor vote introduces the concept of telehealth and not just telemedicine. More than semantics, the proposal broadens the umbrella of remote care, encompassing fields such as nursing, physical therapy, and psychology.

Among other rules, the bill outlines parameters for the protection of patient data and stipulates their right to receive in-person care when desired — much to the chagrin of private health providers which had hoped to launch exclusively remote services.

Health professionals would be allowed to provide remote care anywhere in Brazil and not just in the state in which they hold a medical license. As a consequence, federal medical councils would need to create nationwide standards regulating...