Legal and ethical aspects of telemedicine

Abstract

There are many issues of concern regarding the legal and ethical aspects of telemedicine. These include the responsibilities and potential liabilities of the health professional, the duty to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of patient records, and the jurisdictional problems associated with cross-border consultations. There is also the issue of reimbursement for care provided using a telemedicine service. Telemedicine allows the transmission of health information across the borders of nation states. Cross-border telemedicine services have begun, particularly in specialties such as teleradiology, but questions of jurisdiction and registration have yet to be answered definitively. While this may be true of many of the legal and ethical aspects of telemedicine generally, it is also the case that health-care professionals who undertake telemedicine in a prudent manner will minimize the possibility of medicolegal complications.

Trappings of technology: casting palliative care nursing as legal relations

“…In negligence cases, nurses ‘have been apportioned responsibility for the deaths of patients by coroners and are subject to disciplinary action for unprofessional conduct by nurses’ boards (Breen, Plueckhahn, and Cordner 1997, 168). Second, if nurses misuse information about patients, they breach confidentiality and commit a crime (Stanberry 2006, 168), whether or not patient care is compromised. Third, if nurses or their organization become implicated in others’ unauthorized use of client information, they violate a client’s legal rights to privacy and breach legal provisions.…”

Survey of paediatricians’ opinions on a regional paediatric telecardiology service

“…In addition, there was almost a complete agreement that professional responsibility for patients, following the teleconsultation, should be shared between the referring paediatrician and paediatric cardiologist. The nuances of who actually bears legal responsibility for the patient following a telemedicine consultation are not completely clear …”

“…The nuances of who actually bears legal responsibility for the patient following a telemedicine consultation are not completely clear. 23 Paediatricians regularly involved in tele-echocardiography are more confident in performing echocardiography and using the telemedicine equipment. It is not important (or even desirable) that all paediatricians are actively involved in teleechocardiography.…”

Emergency Physician and Stroke Specialist Beliefs and Expectations Regarding Telestroke

“…It is important to note that many of these concerns have been informally recognized by leaders in the telestroke field2,11,12. Educating potential users with regards to progress in these areas is critical in increasing physician buy-in.…”