When Can a Telehealth Provider Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice?

Even before the COVID pandemic, the number of doctor visits conducted online rather than in person was growing rapidly. During the pandemic, patients became more comfortable seeing providers online. Telehealth visits can be very cost-effective for healthcare companies, so the practice has remained popular. With the added convenience, it might seem like telehealth is a positive option for everyone.

The American Hospital Association reports that one in eight Medicare beneficiaries received at least one telehealth service during the last quarter for which data were available. In addition, changes in requirements have enabled telemedicine to deliver services in more circumstances than before.

Unfortunately, the quality of patient care provided through telemedicine often suffers, and the results can be deadly. Healthcare providers and facilities are not liable for malpractice every time a patient suffers an adverse outcome, but there are numerous situations in which telehealth-related medical malpractice causes severe harm that gives rise to legal liability.

It’s not possible to cover every potential medical malpractice situation involving telemedicine in a blog post, but here we provide general information about the factors that can lead to medical malpractice in telehealth services. If you contact us directly for a free consultation, we can review the specific circumstances in your case and explain what you may be able to receive in a malpractice claim.  

Greater Risk of Misdiagnosis

Studies and surveys have repeatedly shown that the risk of misdiagnosis is higher in telemedicine than in in-person visits. Incorrect diagnoses generally account for between 40-50% of medical malpractice claims in traditional medicine. Yet findings from reviews conducted by Harvard Medical School and other sources show that misdiagnosis is the basis of 65-70% of telemedicine malpractice cases.

It is not surprising that the risk of misdiagnosis is greater in telemedicine than in traditional medicine. Physicians conducting examinations through electronic media lose critical diagnostic tools. They cannot touch a patient to palpate for cancerous masses, for instance. They also cannot use their sense of smell to detect telltale signs of certain infections, such as Pseudomonas, or dangerous conditions such as Ketoacidosis. 

While a doctor can view a patient on a screen during a telehealth visit, it is hard to evaluate a patient’s coordination, skin color, and other indicators that are assessed through physical clues. They also cannot as easily tell when a patient is reluctant to share critical information and needs encouragement to discuss symptoms or the conditions that may have caused them.

Doctors making a diagnosis during a telehealth visit rely on limited information, which can easily lead to problems. Unfortunately, the types of symptoms that can be incorrectly diagnosed in a telehealth visit are often signs of serious, life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, stroke, and septic infections. Responsible physicians should recognize the limitations of telehealth and recommend that a patient come in for an in-person exam or testing in many situations. When they fail to do so, they could be held liable for medical malpractice.

Telehealth Providers Are Held to the Same Standards as Other Medical Practitioners

Florida law is very specific about the standards that apply in telehealth cases. Section 456.47 of the Florida Statutes explains that telehealth providers are held to the “prevailing professional standard of practice for a health care professional who provides in-person health care services to patients” in our state. The limitations of a virtual online exam do not excuse a missed diagnosis or other medical mistakes. 

Instead, a telehealth provider should take reasonable steps to address the limitations. This might include telling a patient to see a provider in person or guiding a patient through procedures to assess a condition. If the video quality is poor or if it does not reveal critical details, a physician should not continue with a virtual visit but should inform the patient that they need to see a provider in person to have their condition properly evaluated.

Examples of Telehealth Mistakes That Could Be Considered Malpractice

When a physician or other healthcare practitioner fails to provide care that meets appropriate standards, that failure is considered malpractice. Some hypothetical situations that could be considered malpractice in telehealth situations include:

• A doctor reviews a photo or video showing a mole and informs the patient that it is benign when, in fact, it is cancerous, and the doctor should have recommended that it be biopsied.
• A patient presents with symptoms of a heart attack, but the doctor does not recommend seeking immediate in-person treatment
• A doctor fails to review a patient’s medical history before prescribing a medication, with the result that the side effects or drug interactions cause serious medical problems  
• A patient discloses severe abdominal pain, and the doctor diagnoses it as indigestion without asking questions or recommending an in-person evaluation that would reveal that the problem was appendicitis, and the appendix bursts as a result
• A doctor fails to notice shallow breathing and sallow skin color, which indicate signs of pneumonia or serious infection, and fails to ask questions about potentially dangerous symptoms that would indicate the patient needs in-person treatment quickly

Often, healthcare providers conducting telehealth visits are rushed, just as they are in their offices. In all settings, physicians’ pay rates are often tied to schedules that encourage them to see a high number of patients in a short period. 

The difference is that doctors rushing through an in-person exam often pick up clues that prompt them to consider a symptom more closely. Doctors viewing a patient on a video screen should be extra vigilant in asking questions and recommending in-person evaluations. But they can become overconfident in their diagnostic abilities and make mistakes that prevent a patient from receiving necessary care in a timely fashion. Often, that failure to diagnose or to recommend additional evaluation can constitute actionable malpractice.

Searcy Denney Tallahassee Knows How to Hold Doctors and Hospitals Liable in Malpractice Situations

When doctors fail to provide treatment that meets reasonable standards, they should be held liable for the harm that results. A missed or delayed diagnosis can allow a condition to become much more severe, leading to unnecessary pain and permanent damage to the body. Sometimes, a patient is unable to recover and suffers an untimely death because a doctor failed to recommend the right tests or examinations after a telehealth visit.

Liability can be difficult to prove in these situations, but the team at Searcy Denney Tallahassee has extensive experience helping patients and their families receive full compensation in medical malpractice claims. For a free, confidential consultation to discuss what may be possible in your situation, contact us online or call us at 888-549-7011.