A comparison of telehealth programs between the USA and Brazil: a legal perspective

Abstract

Telehealth has the potential to improve access and outcomes for patients and to reduce health care costs across a wide range of health conditions and situations. The wide adoption of telehealth requires, however, a strong legal and financial foundation. In this article, we compare the evolution of American and Brazilian telehealth legislations and reimbursement schemes. The detailed analysis in this article shows many differences between these two countries that help to explain why telehealth in the USA has a much faster adoption rate than that in Brazil.