The legal implications of the dramatic rise in the use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed during the latest instalment of the Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) Intersection of Law & Medicine series.
With physical distancing measures in place in many countries to limit the spread of the virus, telemedicine underwent several years’ worth of development in just a few weeks, as healthcare professionals switched from in-person to virtual appointments.
This rapid, large-scale transition allowed healthcare professionals to safely continue to provide care to their patients, but also raised significant legal and ethical issues concerning privacy, safety, liability, and licensing. The Law & Medicine series brought together local and international experts to discuss the implications of the switch.
The event – the first in the series to be held fully online – examined the benefits and risks of telemedicine, the legal hurdles presented by cross-border telemedicine, and the safety and privacy concerns related to telemedicine.
The speakers appraised the regulatory adjustments necessary for operating telehealth in the post-COVID-19 era and discussed the sustainability of telemedicine for healthcare professionals and health institutions moving forward.
Coordinated and delivered by the Division for Continuing Professional Development at WCM-Q, the event featured presentations by expert speakers Dr Humayun ‘Hank’ Chaudhry, President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards in the US; Professor Glenn Cohen of Harvard Law School, regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on the intersection of bioethics and the law; and Dr Sophia Jan, Division Chief of General Pediatrics and Medical Director of Health Homes Serving Children at Northwell Health in New York State.
Dr Thurayya Arayssi of WCM-Q and Dr Barry Solaiman of Hamad Bin Khalifa University served as course directors.
According to Dr Solaiman telemedicine has been a crucial tool for healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure continued care for patients. However, the sheer speed and scale of the switch to telemedicine has left regulators scrambling to keep up. He said that there is now much work to do to establish a global framework of regulation to ensure telemedicine is used in ways that protect the health, rights, privacy and dignity of both patients and healthcare professionals.
The event was accredited locally by the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners-Accreditation Department and internationally by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
For more information about the Intersection of Law & Medicine series at WCM-Q, visit qatar-weill.cornell.edu.