Practicing medicine online through video chats or by phone call is risky. Although the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of Telehealth into prominence in the last few years, it still has inherent risks that need to be avoided, reduced, or insured against. The main concerns are medical malpractice claims for undiagnosed or misdiagnosed conditions, HIPAA Compliance, and medical license violations.
The biggest medical malpractice risk with Telehealth is misdiagnosis or undiagnosed medical conditions. Part of the risk is in the limitations of technology. A doctor can see and hear a patient through a Zoom meeting or a FaceTime video, but he/she cannot always get an up-close look. Vitals can be monitored, but the face-to-face office visit goes way beyond the vitals. Many times, physicians are reliant on the patient, to be honest, and forthcoming with their health information. An internal irritation or pain can be missed with undesirable consequences. Risk can be avoided or reduced by having the patient come into the office for a face-to-face visit on a regular basis.
Missing a diagnosis is only the beginning of the risk with Telehealth. There are privacy and security risks associated with using electronic devices that are not a worry when seeing a patient in the office. Physicians need to make sure their systems are HIPAA compliant. Making sure that no patient’s personal or health information is lost or stolen must be a top priority. Medical Advantage, a TDC Group company, has published an article called, “How to Develop a Telehealth Implementation Strategy,” which every medical practice will find helpful as a resource. Also, it is important to have a complete Cyber Liability Insurance Policy that covers data breaches, lost or stolen information, billing errors, HIPPA violations, and the expenses related to defending against them. eQuoteMD can provide options for various insurance plans to cover this risk.
Along with HIPAA concerns and misdiagnosis, medical license violations are a risk when practicing Telehealth. Medical malpractice insurance policies and most state laws require that a physician be licensed in the state where they are practicing medicine as well as in the state where the patient is located. Physicians often overlook this important detail and risk getting reported to the state boards of healing arts or being denied a claim by the medical malpractice insurance company. Physicians must be sure they know where the patient physically sits when consulting through technology. There are no gray areas here. The provider must be licensed in both states to avoid problems. Reduce risk by knowing where the patient sits, eliminate the risk by not participating in Telehealth, or insure against the risk by transferring it to a qualified medical malpractice insurance carrier. eQuoteMD works with more carriers than anyone else in the market. We can find the best insurance for Telehealth in any specialty in any state.
