Cancer Specialist Sues New Jersey Over Telemedicine Restrictions

A doctor and a patient argue in a new federal lawsuit that it is unconstitutional to forbid telehealth consultations and care.

Dr. Shannon MacDonald, a radiation oncologist at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital, is suing New Jersey over its restrictions on telehealth. She is shown in an undated photo. Courtesy of Pacific Legal Foundation

A medical doctor is suing New Jersey in federal court over its laws that limit telehealth services and prevent patients from accessing specialty cancer care that their local doctors lack the expertise to treat.

Telehealth—also known as telemedicine, which has become increasingly popular in recent years—is the provision of healthcare remotely by way of electronic information and telecommunication technologies.