Telemedicine company wins order putting TX remote treatment rule on hold

Patients in Texas can continue to receive remote diagnoses and treatment after telemedicine company Teladoc Inc won a preliminary court order blocking a new state rule requiring doctors to meet patients first. The ruling in Austin federal court on Friday came the same day that Teladoc filed its public registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. The company first announced its plans to go public in April. Founded in 2002, Teladoc describes itself as one of the first and largest U.S. telemedicine services, with a network of about 700 doctors and 11 million patients nationwide. About 2.4 million patients are in Texas.