[Origins of French telemedicine legislation]

After the creation of the european institute of telemedicine on 10 July 1989 at Paul Sabatier university in Toulouse, it became clear that legislation was needed to provide a solid framework for this new medical practice. The French government's decision in 1993 to create an experimental telemedicine network in the Midi-Pyrenees region, bringing together all public and private healthcare establishments, led us to manage telemedicine in much the same way as a hospital department. This resulted in the creation of institutional systems suited to multicenter networking and requiring particular regulations to govern healthcare professionals' responsibilities, financing, data security, and the use of new communication and information technologies. Articles specific to telemedicine were integrated into the law of 13 August 2004 relating to the reorganisation of French healthcare insurance.