[The analysis of legal basis of telediagnosis and teleconsultation in clinical practice. are we allowed to consult our patients via phone? Part I].
BACKGROUND
Telemedicine means the delivery of medical service without personal contact between the patient and physician. Although Polish legal regulations do not prohibit so called "distant medical treatment", they do not specify clear and ambiguous terms of such a service. The practitioner faces numerous doubts concerning the telediagnosis and teleconsultation. The authors discuss the problems of acceptability of telediagnosis and teleconsultation in Poland.


METHODS
The material comprised a whole set of legal acts of the Polish and European origin that could have any impact on the legal basis of telemedicine in Poland. The method applied was of interpretative nature, and the texts of above-mentioned acts were thoroughly analyzed, providing the first comprehensive study on this subject.


RESULTS
The results applied to practitioners of numerous medical specializations, but it should be stated that the examples studied and analyzed focused on teleconsultations in occupational medicine. The analysis revealed that current legal regulations do not specify the exact form the medical consultations should acquire. Nevertheless, it should be admitted that "distant consultation"; via the Internet, phone or other means of IT is not prohibited. The authors emphasize, however, that the distant consultations should be treated as an exception to the rule, which says that the patient should be personally consulted by the physician.


CONCLUSIONS
The achievements of information technology greatly contributes to the quality of diagnostic and therapeutic processes. The existence of many unclear and ambiguous rules and opinions makes it necessary to establish legal regulations specifying the principles of distant exchange of medical data.
Zajdel
Radosław
R
Uniwersytet Medyczny, Studium Informatyki i Statystyki Medycznej, Łódź. Radoslaw.Zajdel@umed.lodz.pl
Krakowiak
Anna
A
Zajdel
Justyna
J
D003195:Computer Communication Networks / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D020407:Internet; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D009787:Occupational Medicine / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011044:Poland; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D019112:Teleradiology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence