Telemedicine
Telemedicine is the “use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications for the health and education of the patient or health care provider and for the purpose of improving patient care.” The telemedicine industry has grown rapidly in recent years, especially in some medical specialties, such as dermatology, oncology, radiology, surgery, cardiology, and mental health. Currently, telemedicine is used mostly in teleradiology, patient monitoring, correctional care, and federal populations. Some of the major issues concerning telemedicine are:
- Payment for services – Medicare reimburses for several types of telemedical services, including teleradiology, remote patient monitoring, and live consultations with patients residing in remote health professional shortage areas. Broad reimbursement for telemedical services, however, is not currently available.
- State medical licensure – Since each state requires separate medical licenses for physicians to practice inside that state, telemedicine raises state licensure issues because it allows for the practice of medicine across state lines. Some states have recently enacted restrictive laws to keep out health professionals licensed in other states.
-
Patient privacy and confidentiality
– A recent survey conducted by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) and the Internet HealthCare Coalition found that seventy-five percent of those seeking health information on the Internet are concerned about the sites sharing their personal health information with third parties.
An investigative report released by the CHCF revealed that health Web sites recognize consumers’ concern about the privacy of their personal health information and have made efforts to establish privacy policies. The report concluded, however, that the policies do not truly safeguard consumers and that there is inconsistency between the privacy policies and actual practices.
- Professional and ethical standards and guidelines – There is growing concern that much of the health and medical information on the Internet is erroneous or misleading. For example, the information on many Web sites could be outdated, written by unqualified individuals with little or no knowledge of the subject matter, or slanted to promote a specific company’s products or treatments.
If you use any telemedical services, you must be extremely cautious about the accuracy of the information provided, the safety of any product or treatment offered, and the privacy and confidentiality of your personal health information.
The analyses and views of Ms. Lee's are her own. They do not reflect those of the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law or the New York State Department of Health.
Go To Page: 1
