Page 33 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part Two

SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery

Technical Responsibilities

Negligence can be alleged in connection with the selection,

configuration, maintenance, and support of telemedical
infrastructure. One risk unique to telemedicine is breaking the

communication connection with a patient in the middle of a
visit. Prior to an encounter, participants should understand

what to do in the event of a disruption in service. Imagine if, as
it becomes increasingly apparent that a patient needs urgent

in-person care, the line goes dead. Protecting the system from
hackers, malware, and other cyber threats is just as much a part

of providing a safe environment as clearing ice from the parking
lot.

Administrative Responsibilities

Negligence can be alleged in connection with organizational
policies, hiring and training of employees, use of outside

contractors, security and privacy events, disaster response, and
other matters related to the governance of systems.

Ethical Issues

There are few ethical issues unique to telemedicine. The AMA

addresses telemedicine in its Code of Medical Ethics but finds
nothing novel. There are well-understood analogies to draw
10
upon from a deep well of modern bioethical thinking.

Most commentary available to practitioners on telemedicine

ethics offers sensible, but nearly self-evident, advice about
issues discussed previously, such as assuring security, privacy

and technical quality, verifying the identities of participants,
documenting adequately, and using good judgment about

10 American Medical Association, Code of Medical Ethics Opinion 1.2.12, https://www.ama-assn.
org/delivering-care/ethical-practice-telemedicine [7/19/18]

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