Challenging Telehealth Restrictions: A Free Speech Lawsuit with Dr. Shannon MacDonald

After COVID-19 changed protocols for all day-to-day life, medicine was no exception. In every effort to stop and slow the spread of COVID-19, many medical appointments previously in person turned into virtual visits. This was seen in medicine, school, and life in general. During this period, doctors such as Shannon found one silver lining: patients did not have to travel while undergoing great physical stress due to a disease such as cancer.As protocols slowly began to shift back to life before the pandemic, many patients suddenly found themselves having to commute to another state just to have a brief phone consultation with their doctor. Dr. Shannon MacDonald joins The Cancer Project this week for a special two episode installment. In this episode, Dr. MacDonald dives into the ongoing legal case of Shannon MacDonald, M.D., et al. v. Otto Sabando. This case challenges the restrictions of telehealth medicine in New Jersey for rare disease patients who need specialized care that may not be available locally. The lawsuit seeks to eliminate the need for patients to have to commute to another state for what could easily be a video call while they battle rare and potentially fatal diseases.Host David Raubach and Dr. MacDonald explain the different angles of the legal case and the adjacent lawsuit in California, also seeking mitigation of certain telehealth restrictions. For more information about this ongoing legal case please visit https://pacificlegal.org/case/new-jersey-telehealth-pediatric-cancer/.Episode Resources:Oklahoma Proton Centerhttps://www.okcproton.com/https://www.instagram.com/okprotoncenter/https://www.facebook.com/OKProtonCenterThe Cancer Project Podcasthttps://www.instagram.com/the_cancerprojecthttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581844363126https://www.tiktok.com/@protonguy