Digital Health Care, Telemedicine, and Medicolegal Issues in Orthopedics: A Review

Davide Ferorelli, Lorenzo Moretti (), Marcello Benevento, Maurizio Mastrapasqua, Michele Telegrafo, Biagio Solarino, Alessandro Dell’Erba, Davide Bizzoca and Biagio Moretti
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Davide Ferorelli: Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Lorenzo Moretti: Orthopedics and Trauma Unit, AOUC Policlinico di Bari, Department DiBraiN, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70121 Bari, Italy
Marcello Benevento: Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Maurizio Mastrapasqua: Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Michele Telegrafo: Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Biagio Solarino: Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Alessandro Dell’Erba: Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Davide Bizzoca: Orthopedics and Trauma Unit, AOUC Policlinico di Bari, Department DiBraiN, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70121 Bari, Italy
Biagio Moretti: Orthopedics and Trauma Unit, AOUC Policlinico di Bari, Department DiBraiN, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70121 Bari, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-9

Abstract: The use of technologies in medicine has great potential to reduce the costs of health care services by making appropriate decisions that provide timely patient care. The evolution of telemedicine poses a series of clinical and medicolegal considerations. However, only a few articles have dealt with telemedicine and orthopedics. This review assesses the ethical and medicolegal issues related to tele-orthopedics. A systematic review was performed including papers published between 2017 and 2021 focusing on the main medicolegal and clinical-governance aspects of tele-orthopedics. Most of the articles were published during the COVID-19 pandemic, confirming the impetus that the pandemic has also given to the spread of telemedicine in the orthopedic field. The areas of interest dealt with in the scientific evidence, almost exclusively produced in the USA, Europe, the UK, and Canada, are quality, patient satisfaction, and safety. The impact of telemedicine in orthopedics has not yet been fully evaluated and studied in terms of the potential medicolegal concerns. Most of the authors performed qualitative studies with poor consistency. Authorizations and accreditations, protection of patient confidentiality, and professional responsibility are issues that will certainly soon emerge.

Keywords: tele-orthopedics; telemedicine; legal medicine; clinical risk management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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