The legal and ethical aspects of telemedicine. 4: Product liability and jurisdictional problems.

The use of telemedicine brings with it the risk that the human factor--the teleconsultant--will fail to reach the standard of care that the law requires of medical professionals. It also brings the risk that the telemedical equipment or system will fail at a crucial moment. Such risks, of course, are inherent in many aspects of medical care but in telemedicine, at the interface between communications technology and health care, one must consider not only who is liable for failure, but under which country's laws will that liability be determined. This final review article describes the challenges facing manufacturers and their customers in providing safe, properly endorsed telemedicine systems. The problem of which country's laws should apply to a cross-border teleconsultation is also reviewed.