NCQA certifies Teledoc physician-credentialing program

The National Committee for Quality Assurance has certified the physician-credentialing program of Dallas-based telehealth service provider Teladoc, the not-for-profit quality assurance group and the company announced.

"Achieving credentialing certification from NCQA demonstrates that Teladoc has the systems, process and personnel in place to conduct credentialing according to its provider credentialing process with the strictest quality standards," said NCQA President Margaret O'Kane, in a news release. The company, founded in 2002, touts 24-hour availability of physicians certified in pediatrics, internal and family medicine via telephone or internet video connections.

The use of telehealth technology is exploding both in the U.S. and abroad. There are now about 200 telemedicine networks and 3,500 “service sites” in the U.S. alone while more than half of all hospitals here are providing some form of telehealth service, according to the American Telemedicine Association, an industry trade group.

Follow Joseph Conn on Twitter: @MHJConn