[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 237 (Monday, December 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 64908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31206]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Interagency Committee for Medical Records (ICMR); Documentation 
of Telemedicine

AGENCY: General Services Administration.

ACTION: Guideline on documentation of telemedicine.

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SUMMARY: Based on the assumptions listed below, members of the 
Interagency Committee on Medical Records (ICMR) voted to approve the 
following guidelines which we recommend for adoption throughout the 
federal health care system:
    The Interagency Committee on Medical Records recommends a uniform 
approach to the documentation of telemedicine: the patient must provide 
written consent before an encounter is videotaped, there must be 
written documentation of the consultation by providers on both ends of 
the telemedicine encounter, and any permanent video images should be 
destroyed after written documentation is complete. The provider should 
indicate in his or her final documentation whether or not the image was 
destroyed. Exceptions to the prohibition against retaining videotapes 
may be permitted for cases with exceptional educational value. Any 
agency which chooses to keep images on file for educational purposes 
should have a standard operating procedure or policy on how the images 
will be maintained. This guideline should be reviewed periodically.

Assumptions

    Storage--Preservation of bulky videotapes imposes significant space 
requirements. Duration of storage of videotaped images is not yet 
defined by most federal activities, but the Department of Veterans 
Affairs must store all medical records for 75 years.
    Technology--As technology changes, recovery of video images may 
require equipment which is no longer available.
    Medicolegal--Whether a videotape of a procedure or consultation 
becomes part of the patient's medical record is not well defined. 
However, according to anecdotal reports, if videotapes are available 
for some patients but not for all, absence of a videotape may create 
the perception of purposeful destruction of evidence.
    Education--If a case is unusual or otherwise holds some special 
educational value, videotaping may be justifiable on educational 
grounds. If a case does not hold educational value and there is no 
legitimate medical reason to videotape (i.e., there is no benefit to 
the patient), then videotaping is probably not justifiable.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this guideline. Comments should refer to the guideline by name and 
should be sent to: CDR Patricia Buss, MC, USN; Code 32--Health Policy; 
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; 2300 E Street, NW; Washington, DC 
20372-5300.

    Dated: November 19, 1996.
CDR Patricia Buss, MC, USN,
Chairperson, Interagency Committee on Medical Records.
[FR Doc. 96-31206 Filed 12-6-96; 8:45 am]
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