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Commentary
ICoME and the moral significance of telemedicine
  1. Victor Chidi Wolemonwu1,
  2. Chiedozie Godian Ike2,
  3. Rosangela Barcaro3,
  4. Emanuela Midolo4
  1. 1 Philosophy, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria
  2. 2 Public Health, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria
  3. 3 Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity (CID Ethics) National Research Council Rome – Italy, Rome, Italy
  4. 4 CNR Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity, Rome, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Dr Victor Chidi Wolemonwu, Philosophy, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria; victor.wolemonwu{at}uniport.edu.ng

https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2023-109669

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    Parsa-Parsi et al systematically discuss and elucidate contentious and non-controversial ethical issues that emerged during the ICoME (International Code of Medical Ethics) revision process and the consensus they achieved. The ethical issues discussed include the physician’s duty to act in the best interests of patients and to ensure they are protected from the unjustifiable risk of harm, respect for patient autonomy and the duties of physicians during emergencies, among others. This paper examines paragraph 26, which requires doctors to provide only medically justified remote treatment, ensure patients offer informed consent and adequately protect their confidentiality.1

    At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries in Europe and America implemented remote-by-default healthcare policies. At that time, the policy aimed to ensure that patients enjoyed continued access to care while protecting healthcare professionals’ health and well-being. After the COVID-19 pandemic, this policy remained in place. Regardless of the nature of their ailment, patients have consistently preferred in-person care out of concern that their health issues might not be accurately diagnosed and that they may not receive quality care …

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @DrVic_Exotic

    • Contributors VCW, CGI, RB and EM contributed ideas to develop the manuscript. Each of the authors edited the manuscript while VCW did the final proofreading.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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