Informed consent for videoconsultations in Canada

Abstract

We performed a qualitative study of the practice of informed consent for videoconsultation in Canada. Fourteen cases were examined: the 13 provinces and territories, and the Federal jurisdiction representing aboriginal groups. Twenty-seven interviews were conducted with key informants (14 telehealth experts, 13 legal experts). The telehealth experts were people with direct experience of telehealth practice. The majority of the telehealth experts agreed that videoconsultations had not been integrated into the health-care system. An interesting finding of the study was that the integration status of videoconsultations was not indicative of informed consent practices. Telehealth providers favoured express written consent, or risk management practices, although there was a desire to move towards implied consent models for videoconsultations. The study also showed that the legal ramifications of the electronic transmission of non-recorded, real-time, personal health information had not been explored. This represents an important factor in guiding future consent for videoconsultations in Canada.

A qualitative study of ethical, medico-legal and clinical governance matters in Australian telehealth services

“…3 Practices concerning informed consent vary: some jurisdictions require written consent and others regard implied consent as sufficient. 3,4 Patient empowerment may be promoted by home telecare, or it may be reduced by surveillance, compliance and dependence on technology. 5…”

“…Previous research has been limited to specific settings or projects. 3,17,18 The present study is part of a larger qualitative investigation into the uptake and sustainability of Australian telehealth services. 19 The aim of the present study was to determine how people directly involved in the provision of telehealth services in Australia have perceived and addressed the ethical, legal and governance matters involved in operating the service.…”

“…Various ethical concerns arising from telehealth have been noted in the literature: about breach of privacy, both in the physical set-up of video communication, 2 and through data transmission and storage. 3 Practices concerning informed consent vary: some jurisdictions require written consent and others regard implied consent as sufficient. 3,4 Patient empowerment may be promoted by home telecare, or it may be reduced by surveillance, compliance and dependence on technology.…”

“…3 Practices concerning informed consent vary: some jurisdictions require written consent and others regard implied consent as sufficient. 3,4 Patient empowerment may be promoted by home telecare, or it may be reduced by surveillance, compliance and dependence on technology. 5 Some people say that the patient-provider relationship is affected because the distant provider cannot touch the patient, with debate regarding whether this can be compensated, either by a local provider conducting a physical examination, or by a more thorough history being obtained by the distant provider.…”

Telemedicine Provides Noninferior Research Informed Consent for Remote Study Enrollment: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…However, patients' understanding of research participation and their rights related to research participation using computer‐enabled audio‐visual communication to discuss informed consent is still unknown . High‐quality informed consent is a benchmark of ethical research; therefore, it is important to evaluate the quality of telemedicine‐based informed consent before its utilization in telemedicine‐based clinical trials.…”