Shedding Light on Telemedicine & Online Prescribing: The Need to Balance Access to Health Care and Quality of Care

The issue of online prescribing through the use of telemedicine raises ethical concerns. In particular, several studies suggest a correlation between telemedicine and overprescribing. Meanwhile, new developments in the law also have the potential to significantly impact online prescribing using tele...

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Published in:American journal of law & medicine 2020-05, Vol.46 (2-3), p.237-251
Main Author: Hoffman, Laura C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotics
Computerized physician order entry
Drug Prescriptions
Drug resistance
Ethics
Health care access
Health care delivery
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Inappropriate Prescribing
Infections
Internet
Internet-Based Intervention
Medical education
Physician-Patient Relations
Practice Patterns, Physicians
Primary care
Quality of care
Quality of Health Care
Telemedicine
Telemedicine - ethics
Telemedicine - legislation & jurisprudence
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description The issue of online prescribing through the use of telemedicine raises ethical concerns. In particular, several studies suggest a correlation between telemedicine and overprescribing. Meanwhile, new developments in the law also have the potential to significantly impact online prescribing using telemedicine. In the absence of concrete federal guidance and a continued delay in issuing required federal regulations, states have developed their own laws, which vary considerably, regarding the ability of physicians to engage in online prescribing through telemedicine. As legal developments open doors for physicians to prescribe through telemedicine, current evidence of overprescribing, although limited, suggests the need to carefully balance access to health care and quality of care in this context, especially when crafting innovative legislative responses. This article attempts to explore this dynamic issue by closely evaluating the research on overprescribing involving telemedicine and the ethical issues surrounding online prescribing. It will continue by analyzing the current legal landscape for online prescribing for telemedicine at both the federal and state levels. Next, this article will examine ethics opinions offered by medical groups that touch this issue. Finally, this article will suggest several recommendations for law and policy moving forward by shedding light on the ethical issues surrounding telemedicine and online prescribing and how to strike a balance between access and quality of care.
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In particular, several studies suggest a correlation between telemedicine and overprescribing. Meanwhile, new developments in the law also have the potential to significantly impact online prescribing using telemedicine. In the absence of concrete federal guidance and a continued delay in issuing required federal regulations, states have developed their own laws, which vary considerably, regarding the ability of physicians to engage in online prescribing through telemedicine. As legal developments open doors for physicians to prescribe through telemedicine, current evidence of overprescribing, although limited, suggests the need to carefully balance access to health care and quality of care in this context, especially when crafting innovative legislative responses. This article attempts to explore this dynamic issue by closely evaluating the research on overprescribing involving telemedicine and the ethical issues surrounding online prescribing. 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source Criminology Collection; Nexis Advance UK (Federated Access); Social Science Premium Collection; Alma/SFX Local Collection
subjects Antibiotics
Computerized physician order entry
Drug Prescriptions
Drug resistance
Ethics
Health care access
Health care delivery
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Inappropriate Prescribing
Infections
Internet
Internet-Based Intervention
Medical education
Physician-Patient Relations
Practice Patterns, Physicians
Primary care
Quality of care
Quality of Health Care
Telemedicine
Telemedicine - ethics
Telemedicine - legislation & jurisprudence
title Shedding Light on Telemedicine & Online Prescribing: The Need to Balance Access to Health Care and Quality of Care
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