How does the HIPAA Rule apply to telemedicine?
Issues regarding privacy and confidentiality in the medical realm are not necessarily different in a telemedicine. As with conventional medicine, a telemedicine clinician has the same duty to safeguard a patient’s medical records and keep their treatments confidential. Storage of electronic files, images, audio/video tapes etc., needs to be done with the same precaution and care ascribed to paper documents. One unique challenge for telemedicine is to balance the requisite expansion of manpower to manage an electronic system with the increased number of people who have potential access to a patient’s records. Telemedicine, at least at present, will require a technical staff to run the system that is completely independent from the medical team. Additionally, because of technological constraints, the transmission of information over communication lines lends itself to hackers and other potential exposure. Protocols must be scrupulously followed to ensure that patients are informed about
Related Questions
- What is the relationship between HIPAA and the human subjects protection regulations of the Common Rule for which IRB review was established?
- My State law is more proactive of HIV information. Is it preempted by the HIPAA Privacy Rule?
- Does the HIPAA Security Rule require the use of an electronic or digital signature?
