Is telemedicine (online doctor consultations) legally recognised in Malta?

Telemedicine and remote healthcare consultations are increasingly recognised within Malta's healthcare regulatory framework, and doctors providing telemedicine services to patients in Malta generally remain bound by the same core professional obligations overseen by the Medical Council under the Health Care Professions Act, Chapter 464 of the Laws of Malta, including proper informed consent, maintaining appropriate clinical standards, and preserving patient confidentiality, meaning the fundamental legal and professional protections you'd expect from an in-person consultation should generally still apply to a properly conducted telemedicine consultation with a doctor licensed to practise in Malta. It's important, however, to confirm that any telemedicine service you're considering is actually being provided by a doctor properly registered and licensed to practise medicine, whether in Malta specifically or through a properly recognised cross-border arrangement if the service is based elsewhere, since the source and licensing status of the treating doctor remains just as relevant in a telemedicine context as it would for in-person care, and using an improperly licensed or unregulated online service could leave you without the normal professional and legal protections you'd expect. Given the relatively evolving nature of telemedicine regulation, if you have any doubts about a specific service's legitimacy or regulatory status, it would be worth verifying the treating doctor's registration status directly with the Medical Council before proceeding, particularly for anything beyond a very minor, low-risk consultation.