Telehealth ethics.
The ethical implications of telehealth go well beyond providers' obligations to ensure privacy and confidentiality. The ethical conundrum of telehealth realizes the uniquely positive impact that telehealth can have on patients, providers, and clinical outcomes, as well as the potential for harm and abuse that may ensue. This article explores telehealth as one of many evolving information technologies that have ethical questions extending well beyond the confines of privacy and confidentiality. Providers and systems who utilize telehealth should also consider how it influences relationships with patients, access to healthcare, capacity for equitable treatment, cost, and quality of life. The ability to respond to these concerns will be important to the future development and deployment of this important technology as one means by which to improve access and quality of healthcare for all members of our society.
MU Center for Health Ethics, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA. flemingd@health.missouri.edu
David A
DA
Fleming
Karen E
KE
Edison
Hon
H
Pak
D003219:Confidentiality / Q000941:ethics; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000941:ethics; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000941:ethics; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000941:ethics; D006801:Humans; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D011640:Public Policy; D011788:Quality of Life; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000941:ethics*; D014481:United States