TeamHealth White Paper Examines Telemedicine Risks, Risk Management Strategies

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report focuses on helping hospital leaders understand and mitigate the patient safety and malpractice risks associated with telemedicine programs. TeamHealth, one of the largest providers of outsourced physician staffing solutions for hospitals, has published a white paper titled, "Telemedicine Risk Management: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Mitigating Patient Safety and Malpractice Exposure." The paper explores the potential risks of telemedicine programs and outlines strategies and tactics for lowering those risks. It is available for download now on the TeamHealth website, teamhealth.com.

The term "telemedicine" refers to interactive communication between a patient and a physician or medical practitioner at a distant site via telecommunications equipment. It is an increasingly attractive tool for delivering medical services, particularly for remote hospitals and communities with limited access to specialists, as well as for urban facilities dealing with the shortage of specialty physicians for on-call coverage. In addition to specialist referral services and patient consultations, telemedicine can offer solutions for remote inpatient or outpatient monitoring within the hospital and even follow-up in the patient's home.

"Hospitals across the country are already using telemedicine to provide services in specialties such as radiology, neurology, psychiatry and emergency medicine, among others," said Paul Hildebrand, MD, Associate Director of the TeamHealth Patient Safety Organization and the report's author. "It's important that these hospitals—and those considering telemedicine programs—understand how to structure their programs and agreements to properly protect themselves, their physicians and patients. We hope this new white paper will help them navigate this complicated topic."

About TeamHealth
TeamHealth (Knoxville, Tenn.) (NYSE: TMH) is one of the largest providers of outsourced physician staffing solutions for hospitals in the United States. Through its 18 regional locations and multiple service lines, TeamHealth's approximately 8,600 affiliated healthcare professionals provide emergency medicine, hospital medicine, anesthesia, urgent care, and pediatric staffing and management services to approximately 800 civilian and military hospitals, clinics, and physician groups in 47 states. The term "TeamHealth" as used throughout this release includes Team Health, Inc., and all of its related entities, divisions, subsidiaries and affiliated physicians and physician groups. For more information about TeamHealth, visit www.teamhealth.com.

SOURCE TeamHealth