Physicians' legal liability in remote healthcare services (Telemedicine)

In line with the advances seen in information and communication technologies, the provision of remote healthcare services is becoming more widespread worldwide. This has the potential to enhance the quality of healthcare services and benefit patients in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of diseases across many medical specialties. In our country (Turkiye), the legal framework governing the provision of remote healthcare services through telemedicine was established by the Regulation on the Provision of Remote Healthcare Services, which came into effect on 10 February 2022. In traditional face-to-face healthcare services, the physician and the patient are the primary parties involved. In telemedicine practices, however, the primary parties consist of the physician, the patient and intermediary service providers. This can make it challenging to clearly define the respective responsibilities of the parties involved in telemedicine applications. For instance, in the context of telemedicine applications, there is ambiguity regarding the allocation of responsibility for safeguarding patient data, ensuring clear audio and video transmission, and comprehensive collection of clinical information during audio-visual videoconference consultations between physicians and patients. This thesis explores the legal liability of physicians in compensating patients for any material and non-material damages incurred during the provision of remote healthcare services.