Telemedicine and Medical Malpractice Law
With advances in technology, doctors no longer need to be in the same physical place as their patients in order to provide medical care. While certainly convenient, the ability to diagnose and treat patients via the Internet is largely untested, with regard to both patient safety and legal liability.
What Is Telemedicine?
Telemedicine uses telecommunication and information technologies to provide clinical health care at a distance. Examples include writing a prescription after communicating with a patient via email, interpreting hospital scans from a home office, performing a robotic surgery, and providing mental health counseling via video conferencing.
In California, state regulations use the …show more content…
Not surprisingly, the legal system has failed to keep pace with the rapidly evolving technology. In fact, few courts have addressed cases involving telemedicine, with a handful of decisions involving prescriptions written without patient examinations and/or medical licensing in the state where the patient is located.
Medical malpractice lawsuits involving telemedicine pose a number of unique legal concerns. When medical care is provided remotely, physicians still owe a duty of care to the patient when providing advice, treatment, or diagnosis. However, it is less clear when physicians consult with one another remotely. For instance, does a consulting radiology doctor owe a duty of care to an ER patient whose scans he or she reviews via e-mail?
The Standard of Care
Another important issue is the standard of care to be applied in telemedicine malpractice suits. In order to prove negligence, injured patients must show a deviation from the applicable standard of care by the heath care professional, which is deemed a breach of the duty owed to the …show more content…
While telemedicine has the potential to make medical treatment more convenient and cost-effective, it is not yet well regulated. Through the use of the Internet, doctors may treat patients in states where they are not licensed and, therefore, not subject to the patient safety regulations of state medical boards. Other potential risks include technology disruptions, equipment failure, and data breaches. Of course, it is still unclear if simply treating a patient remotely — rather than in person — is less effective in some
With advances in technology, doctors no longer need to be in the same physical place as their patients in order to provide medical care. While certainly convenient, the ability to diagnose and treat patients via the Internet is largely untested, with regard to both patient safety and legal liability.
What Is Telemedicine?
Telemedicine uses telecommunication and information technologies to provide clinical health care at a distance. Examples include writing a prescription after communicating with a patient via email, interpreting hospital scans from a home office, performing a robotic surgery, and providing mental health counseling via video conferencing.
In California, state regulations use the …show more content…
Not surprisingly, the legal system has failed to keep pace with the rapidly evolving technology. In fact, few courts have addressed cases involving telemedicine, with a handful of decisions involving prescriptions written without patient examinations and/or medical licensing in the state where the patient is located.
Medical malpractice lawsuits involving telemedicine pose a number of unique legal concerns. When medical care is provided remotely, physicians still owe a duty of care to the patient when providing advice, treatment, or diagnosis. However, it is less clear when physicians consult with one another remotely. For instance, does a consulting radiology doctor owe a duty of care to an ER patient whose scans he or she reviews via e-mail?
The Standard of Care
Another important issue is the standard of care to be applied in telemedicine malpractice suits. In order to prove negligence, injured patients must show a deviation from the applicable standard of care by the heath care professional, which is deemed a breach of the duty owed to the …show more content…
While telemedicine has the potential to make medical treatment more convenient and cost-effective, it is not yet well regulated. Through the use of the Internet, doctors may treat patients in states where they are not licensed and, therefore, not subject to the patient safety regulations of state medical boards. Other potential risks include technology disruptions, equipment failure, and data breaches. Of course, it is still unclear if simply treating a patient remotely — rather than in person — is less effective in some