Colombia updates telemedicine and repeals the 2019 regulation

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Colombia updated the regulatory framework for telehealth and telemedicine through Resolution number 001644 of 2026, published in the Official Gazette on September 7, 2026. The regulation, signed by Minister Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo Martínez, establishes the requirements and conditions for providing remote health services within the General Social Security System in Health (SGSSS) and repeals Resolution 2654 of 2019.

The resolution, issued on July 31, 2026, responds to operational gaps and interpretation difficulties detected during the validity of the previous regulation, particularly regarding modality categories, types of interaction, and the roles of actors in rural and dispersed territories. It is framed within Law 1419 of 2010, Law 1751 of 2015, and the National Rural Health Plan adopted by Decree 351 of 2025.

Categories and scope of the modality

Telemedicine is structured into four combinable categories: telexpertise, teleconcept, teleconsultation, and telemonitoring, which can be developed through synchronous or asynchronous interactions. The regulation specifies the roles of the referring and reference service nodes and clarifies that telehealth activities (tele-orientation, tele-support, and tele-education) do not require authorization as they do not involve the provision of a health service.

The prescription of medications may only be carried out in the categories of telexpertise, teleconsultation, and teleconcept, and certifications and disability leaves issued under this modality must comply with current regulations, including Decree 2126 of 2023.

Differential criteria for rural territories

Differential, reasonable, and progressive criteria are established for the provision of services in municipalities with special conditions, without compromising quality or patient safety:

• Population equal to or less than 20,000 inhabitants.
• Municipalities included in Territorial Development Programs (PDET).
• Municipalities with Special Comprehensive Intervention Plans (PEII) in Strategic Comprehensive Intervention Zones (ZEII).
• Municipalities linked to the National Comprehensive Program for the Voluntary Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS).
• Municipalities classified as Zones Most Affected by the Armed Conflict (ZOMAC).
• Special zones of geographical dispersion and municipalities with a significant presence of ethnic communities.

In these territories, the participation of ancestral knowledge holders, facilitators, and interpreters as companions will be permitted, and intermittent or satellite connectivity will be admitted with documented contingency protocols.

Technology, artificial intelligence, and financing

The regulation allows the use of platforms based on artificial intelligence as a support tool, provided they do not replace clinical judgment or the doctor-patient interaction, and requires interoperability with the electronic health record in accordance with Resolution 866 of 2021. Services provided via telemedicine are funded by the Capitation Payment Unit (UPC) without generating additional funding, and EPS may not issue denials (glosas) based exclusively on the delivery modality.

The resolution takes effect from its issuance on July 31, 2026, and the Ministry will have a period of six months to issue the technical and operational implementation guidelines.

The update seeks to close health access gaps in rural and dispersed areas, and to provide legal certainty to providers, EPS, and patients within a context of digital transformation of the sector.

Source: Official Gazette, Edition 53,618, Monday, September 7, 2026, p. 21 (official reference: Resolution number 001644 of 2026).