Professional liability risks and risk management for nurses in telehealth

This paper will identify professional liability risks including licensure and malpractice risks associated with the delivery of professional health care services by nurses through the medium of information and communications technology (ICT). Risk management strategies to address these risks will be presented. In Canada, telehealth is defined as "the use of communications and information technology to deliver health and healthcare services and information over large and small distances" (Industry Canada, 1997). The use of ICT to deliver professional health care services in Canada is growing rapidly. New health care call centres, staffed by registered nurses, have burgeoned in the past 2 years and other health care organizations are now offering similar services. Whereas, in the "good old days", all health care providers were cautioned against giving health care information over the telephone because of the risk of error and possible malpractice suits, this is now an accepted practice. It is important to recognize that the legal risks are as high as they ever were unless they are appropriately managed through a variety of risk management strategies. Self-regulating groups of Canadian health professionals are also struggling with the legal ramifications of telehealth in relation to the locus of accountability of the health professional, when the client lives in a different jurisdiction from the nurse. This presentation will stress the importance of risk management in telehealth delivery. It is vitally important for the protection of the public and of health care professionals that telehealth services are delivered in a way that minimizes the risk of harm and subsequent legal action.