Page 27 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part Two
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SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery
from opportunities for human error and mischief provided by
technology. These fall into technical, administrative, and clinical
categories.
Jurisdiction
Most civil claims for negligence associated with telemedical
practice are going to begin by determining (or contesting) what
jurisdiction governs the action. As previously mentioned, the
jurisdiction for the telemedicine encounter is where the patient
is located.
Qualifications
There is clear liability risk for practitioners who fail to maintain
proper licensure and credentials, or who misrepresent these to
patients or authorities.
Failure to Examine
One theory of negligence telemedicine that practitioners need
to keep at the forefront of their thinking is the allegation of failing
to perform an adequate examination. This issue is often raised
for in-person encounters where something has been missed,
and it is an obvious vulnerability for telemedicine. It is important
to document the findings available from the channels in use that
support each clinical assessment and to be ready to terminate
a session—and redirect it to an in-person provider—when a
clinical question can’t be resolved using remote technology.
Failure to Disclose
For any emerging modality, a bit of extra care is called for in
the informed consent process. Providers should offer details
about risks of diagnosis and treatment via electronic media to
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