Page 21 - Part 2 Introduction to Telemedicine

SVMIC Introduction to Telemedicine

Guidelines

Liability claims often invoke guidelines and standards, both on the

plaintiff and defense side. It is essential that telemedicine
practitioners remain well-versed in the (frequently changing)

published guidance from relevant agencies and authorities.

Reliance

In general, a physician who requests consultation from a colleague

is allowed to rely on the advice rendered, with conditions. In one’s
own state, this allows each doctor to assume the other is licensed

and credentialed. When referral is made to, or consultation sought

from an unknown expert, some diligence should be given to
verifying these things; this duty can reasonably be satisfied by

using reputable services. However, just as in face-to-face
consulting, the requesting physician is responsible for choosing a

proper source of advice and implementing recommendations

appropriately. This implies that the requesting provider interpose
professional judgment and is not immune from liability for

negligent referral.

E-Discovery

Since the medium in which telemedicine is transacted is

electronic, providers should be prepared to produce electronic files

in response to legal subpoenas and court orders, just as they do
for EHRs. In fact, telemedical platforms are essentially EHRs, if not

actually embedded in them. Just as EHR files include metadata
with time stamps and detailed logs identifying users and every

kind of interaction they have with the system, telemedical files
should be the same. However, the difference between most EHR

content and telemedicine records is that the latter very likely

include full motion audio and video of the entire encounter. The

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