Page 25 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part Two

SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery

scratch. Where evidence and standards of care allow, measure

stewards should do so without altering standards and expected
outcomes for services provided via telehealth.
7

States that have adopted the FSMB Model Policy generally

share the consensus that the standard of care for physicians
is the same for telemedicine as for practice in-person. This

includes adherence to national and international codes of ethics
and quality standards applicable to each specialty.

A physician’s professional discretion as to the diagnoses, scope
of care, or treatment should not be limited or influenced by

non-clinical considerations of telemedicine technologies, and
physician remuneration or treatment recommendations should

not be materially based on the delivery of patient-desired
outcomes (i.e. a prescription or referral) or the utilization of

telemedicine technologies.
8

A Closer Look at Liability

Malpractice is generally defined as the failure
to exercise the degree of reasonable care, skill,

and diligence as would ordinarily be exercised
by a similarly situated healthcare provider for a

similar patient under the same or similar
circumstances. The defense generally depends

on showing that the provider’s actions fell within the range of an
acceptable standard of care.

7 https://www.ncqa.org/programs/data-and-information-technology/telehealth/taskforce-on-
telehealth-policy/executive-summary/
8 Federation of State Medical Boards. 2014. Model policy for the appropriate use of telemedicine
technologies in the practice of medicine. Report of the State Medical Boards’ Appropriate
Regulation of Telemedicine (SMART) Workgroup. Adopted as policy by the Federation of State
Medical Boards in April 2014.

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