Author/Authors :
shafizadeh, hamid tehran university of medical sciences - school of medicine - department of medical ethics, tehran, iran , larijani, bagher tehran university of medical sciences - endocrinology and metabolism research center, endocrinology and metabolism clinical sciences institute, tehran, iran , mojtahedzadeh, rita tehran university of medical sciences - center of excellence for e-learning in medical education, virtual school - department of e-learning in medical education, tehran, iran , shamsi gooshki, ehsan tehran university of medical sciences - medical ethics and history of medicine research center, school of medicine - department of medical ethics, tehran, iran , nedjat, saharnaz tehran university of medical sciences - school of public health - department of epidemiology and biostatistics, tehran, iran
Abstract :
telemedicine can improve access to healthcare services; however, it has raised ethical concerns demanding special considerations. this study aimed at developing the codes of ethics for telemedicine, and hence several approved national and international ethical guidelines related to telemedicine practice were reviewed, and 48 semi-structured interviews were conducted with medical ethics and medical informatics experts as well as with physicians and patients who had telemedicine experiences. content analysis was then performed on the interviews’ transcripts and a draft on code of ethics was prepared, which was further reviewed by the experts in the focus group meetings to reach a consensus on the final document. the final document consisted of a preface, five considerations, and 25 ethical statements. considering the growing trend of adopting telemedicine worldwide, this document provides an ethical framework for those who use telemedicine in their medical practice.
Keywords :
code of ethics , telemedicine , health services , iran
