When nurses or doctors communicate with each other on the Internet, they must be very careful not to use their patient s name or abuse their patient s right to privacy. Improving the quality of care through the use of the computerized medical information systems cannot override the need to protect individual rights to privacy. According to Loren Buhle, patient rights, provider rights, and other concerns are being addressed to prevent the disclosure of computerized medical records. Professionals in the field of medicine are pushing for proposals for strict limitations of who can access the information and heavy penalties for abuse of the privilege. Aside from the privacy problem, using the Internet for diagnosis and treatment of patients raises new legal questions relating to licensing, credentialing, and liability.
Liability is an issue that emerges in any discussion of shared client information.
States regulate nursing practice through licensure. Nurses are required to obtain a license from each state in which they practice. This is where the problem begins. If sharing patient information over interstate networks is done in the context of provision nursing care, and the nurse isn t licensed in that state, they are practicing without a license. This is considered a felony.