[Telemedicine--legal aspects]

Abstract

Due to the complexity of its scope of use, telemedicine involves new risks of legal liability against which often neither physicians nor clinics are insured; for example, division of responsibility which is not legally defined between the consultant and the attending physician, or demands for compensation from abroad. Special information sheets and forms of consent for telemedicine must be introduced, and particularly the risks of this type of diagnostics and therapy must also be pointed out. On these forms patients must give their consent to their physician consulting a specialist via data line. Furthermore, the court of jurisdiction and the law under which a court must judge in a liability case must be defined on these forms. Insurers must be informed about the type and scope of telemetric activities without delay.