ACP says telemedicine can offer safe, equitable, and effective access to clinical care, but improvements to the regulatory landscape are needed
PHILADELPHIA, May 11, 2026—Telemedicine can improve health equity by helping patients overcome barriers to in-person care, but meaningful policy changes are essential for lasting benefits, says the American College of Physicians (ACP). In a new paper, “Telemedicine Policy and Practice: A Position Paper from the American College of Physicians” published today in Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP issues recommendations for policymakers, regulators and health systems about how to improve telemedicine. ACP’s recommendations aim to ensure telemedicine is equitable, grounded in evidence, and used as a complement to clinical practice.
Telemedicine has become an essential tool for modern health care. It refers to the remote delivery of clinical services using telecommunication technologies, including video, audio-only, and other digital modalities, and is offered to patients across an array of clinical contexts. When integrated into longitudinal patient-physician relationships, telemedicine can expand access to care and improve clinical outcomes. Patients with mobility, transportation and geographic constraints particularly benefit from telemedicine. For physicians, however, the complex and often fragmented regulatory landscape introduces administrative burden, complicates compliance and can undermine continuity of care.
“Telemedicine has become a crucial component of clinical health care and offers significant benefits to physicians, patients and health systems. That said, the telemedicine regulatory landscape remains fragmented and under-examined,” said Jan K. Carney, MD, MPH, MACP, president, ACP. “ACP is offering a roadmap to not only address telemedicine’s current challenges but also provide recommendations to support its safe, equitable and effective use in the future.”
Safe and effective long-term integration of telemedicine will require deliberate federal and state policymaking. ACP recommends that telemedicine strengthen and facilitate—not replace—in-person care and should promote quality, equitable access, and a meaningful connection between patients and physicians. Telemedicine should be integrated into hybrid models of care that combine in-person and virtual services based on patient needs and clinical appropriateness. Regulators, physician practices, and other relevant entities must address barriers to telemedicine usage by investing in the infrastructure needed to support equitable access, including broadband availability, device access, language services, disability accommodations and digital literacy support. Policymakers should align reimbursement with the clinical value and appropriateness of telemedicine services, rather than adopting one-size-fits-all payment policies, and establish clear, evidence-based national standards that reduce unnecessary variation across state and federal requirements.
Physicians should retain decision-making authority when determining whether telemedicine is clinically appropriate, recognizing that not all conditions can be safely or effectively managed remotely, and regulators should collaborate with them to develop minimum standards for telemedicine safety. ACP supports safe and appropriate prescribing via telemedicine as part of an ongoing patient-physician relationship and emphasizes that telemedicine services should reinforce longitudinal care and avoid fragmenting care through isolated, episodic encounters. ACP also underscores the importance of maintaining coverage for audio-only services when clinically appropriate, particularly for patients facing barriers to video-based care. Physicians face unnecessary administrative barriers to interstate medical practice, which further complicates patient access, and ACP urges policymakers to streamline licensing pathways and enable telemedicine services across state lines. Telemedicine platforms should also meet appropriate standards for patient privacy, data security and clinical safety.
Finally, ACP calls for more research on the operational, workforce and well-being implications of telemedicine on physicians. These studies should guide evidence-based policies that protect physicians and clinicians, sustain telemedicine integration and strengthen the practice of medicine.
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 172 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 163,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our new RSS feed.
Contact: Jacquelyn Blaser, Jblaser@acponline.org, 202-261-4572