The healthcare information technology context: a framework for viewing legal aspects of telemedicine and teleradiology

Explores the healthcare information technology context as a backdrop for viewing the legal issues that accompany telemedicine and teleradiology. In this age of managed care, healthcare informatics has become a burgeoning field. Computer-based technologies help automate processes such as patient data collection. As patient records become increasingly digitized, they are more easily transmitted between various healthcare sites and personnel. The security of electronic medical data transfer, however, is sometimes inadequate. Digitized medical records give rise to a number of legal issues. A well-known example is the security of electronic medical data. Data security and other legal issues pose enormous challenges to the adoption of healthcare technologies; these barriers can potentially inhibit their diffusion. In the case of telemedicine, many of the current laws are underdeveloped and unstable, and pending bills are often obscure. In addition to confidentiality, other legal issues I discuss include malpractice, reimbursement and licensure.