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Telemedicine in the Digital Era: Navigating the International Legal Landscape to Expand Global Healthcare Access

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2024

Yusupova Faringiz Uktam Qizi Open the ORCID record for Yusupova Faringiz Uktam Qizi [Opens in a new window]
Yusupova Faringiz Uktam Qizi*
Affiliation:
Lecturer, Department of International Law and Human Rights, Tashkent State University of Law, Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

The global healthcare landscape faces mounting challenges, from resource constraints and rural healthcare access in Uzbekistan, to aging populations and rising chronic disease rates in Europe. Amidst these, the digital transformation in healthcare and the study of international legal aspects governing telemedicine services have emerged as crucial priorities. This article examines the international legal framework for telemedicine, analyzing key documents of the United Nations (UN), World Health Organization (WHO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and various regional bodies. It highlights the absence of a universal agreement that comprehensively addresses telemedicine regulation and data protection issues. The article explores national regulatory efforts and identifies gaps in the current fragmented approach. Recommendations include establishing a dedicated subsidiary body under the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) to oversee telemedicine-related matters and codifying scattered norms into a coherent framework. Strengthening the international legal basis for telemedicine can help expand access to vital healthcare services and improve global health outcomes.

Keywords

TelemedicineCOVID-19digital technologyelectronic medical serviceshealth technologiestelemedicine technologies
Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Legal Information , Volume 52 , Issue 2 , Summer 2024 , pp. 155 - 165
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by International Association of Law Libraries

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References

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2 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), General Comment no. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health (art. 12 of the Covenant), 11 Aug. 2000, E/C.12/2000/4.

3 United Nations, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Paris: United Nations General Assembly, 1948.

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12 Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the State Parties of the CIS (2010), Model Law on Telemedicine Services, Resolution no. 35-7, https://cis-legislation.com/document.fwx?rgn=62130.

13 “The agreement on cooperation of the State Parties of the CIS in creation of compatible national telemedicine systems and their further development and use,” Nov. 19, 2010, https://cis-legislation.com/document.fwx?rgn=32672.

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17 International Telecommunication Union, “World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-98)” (Valletta, Malta, Mar. 2–Apr. 1, 1998).

18 Global Observatory for eHealth, Global Survey on eHealth (Geneva: World Health Organization, 2015).

19 Sonu Bhaskar et al., “Telemedicine Across the Globe-Position Paper From the COVID-19 Pandemic Health System Resilience PROGRAM (REPROGRAM) International Consortium (Part 1),” Frontiers in Public Health 8 (Oct. 16, 2020): 556720, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.556720.

20 World Health Assembly, Resolution WHA58.28, “eHealth,” Fifty-eighth World Health Assembly (Geneva: World Health Organization, May 25, 2005).

21 Ibid.

22 World Health Organization, Global Diffusion of eHealth: Making Universal Health Coverage Achievable. Report of the Third Global Survey on eHealth (Geneva: World Health Organization, 2016).

23 World Health Assembly, Resolution WHA66.24, “eHealth Standardization and Interoperability,” Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly (Geneva: World Health Organization, May 27, 2013).

24 World Health Assembly, Resolution WHA71.7, “Digital Health,” Seventy-first World Health Assembly (Geneva: World Health Organization, May 26, 2018).

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 World Health Organization, Global Strategy (n 11).

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.

32 World Health Organization, Global Strategy (n 11).

33 Ibid.

34 Ibid.

35 Ibid.

36 World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, “European Regional Plan for Digital Health for 2023–2030,” Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2022.

37 World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, “Resolution on the Regional Action Plan ‘Using the Digital Transformation to Improve the Health of the European Population 2023–2030,’” Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2022.

38 Ibid.

39 European Parliament and Council, Directive 2011/24/EU on the Application of Patients’ Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare, arts. 24-25, Official Journal of the European Union, Apr. 4, 2011.

40 European Parliament and Council, Directive 2011/24/EU on the Application of Patients’ Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare, art. 4, Official Journal of the European Union, Apr. 4, 2011.

41 Ibid.

42 European Parliament and Council, Directive 2011/24/EU on the Application of Patients’ Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare, art. 6, Official Journal of the European Union, Apr. 4, 2011.

43 Ibid.

44 European Parliament and Council, Directive 2011/24/EU on the Application of Patients’ Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare, Official Journal of the European Union, Apr. 4, 2011.

45 Ibid.

46 W. Genieys and P. Hassenteufel, “Health Policy in France,” in Research Handbook on Health Care Policy, ed. M. Powell, T. I. Agartan, and D. Béland (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024), 536–52.

47 International Telecommunication Union, “Strategic Plan for 2012–2015,” Geneva: International Telecommunication Union, 2010.

48 World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-98), Valletta, Malta. (1998) https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Conferences/WTDC/Documents/BDT-WTDC-1998-FINALREPORT-PDF-E.PDF.

49 International Telecommunication Union, “BDT's Steadfast Commitment to Telemedicine,” accessed June 6, 2024, https://www.itu.int/itunews/issue/1999/05/infodev.html.

50 Ibid.

51 International Telecommunication Union, “Implementing e-Health in Developing Countries Guidance and Principles” (Sep. 2008 Draft), https://itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/app/docs/e-Health_prefinal_15092008.PDF.

52 Ibid.

53 The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2010 (PP-10), Guadalajara, Mexico (2010), https://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/index.html.

54 Resolution 183 was first adopted at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2010 in Guadalajara, Mexico, https://search.itu.int/history/HistoryDigitalCollectionDocLibrary/4.19.43.en.100.pdf.

55 FROM RESOLUTION 71 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010), Strategic Plan for the Union for 2012–2015, https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/stratops/Pages/strategicplan.aspx.

56 Doarn, C.R., Adilova, F., and Lam, D., “A Review of Telemedicine in Uzbekistan,” Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 11, no. 3 (2005): 135–39CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

57 Ibid.

58 At the beginning of 2023, 50.6% of Uzbekistan's population lived in urban centers. Simon Kemp, “Digital 2023: Uzbekistan,” Datareportal (Feb. 14, 2023), https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-uzbekistan.

59 C.R. Doarn, F. Adilova, and D. Lam, “A Review of Telemedicine in Uzbekistan” (n 56).

60 Ibid.

61 Simon Kemp, “Digital 2023: Uzbekistan,” Datareportal (Feb. 14, 2023), https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-uzbekistan.

62 See C.R. Doarn, F. Adilova, and D. Lam, “A Review of Telemedicine in Uzbekistan” (n 56).

63 Simon Kemp, “Digital 2023” (n 61); Simon Kemp, “Digital 2022: Uzbekistan,” Datareportal (Feb. 15, 2022), https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-uzbekistan.