Does Products Liability Litigation Threaten Picture Archiving and Communication Systems And/or Telemedicine?

Numerous writers have commented on barriers to the growth and progress of telemedicine. Among these barriers are reimbursement concerns, professional liability exposure, licensing restrictions, hospital credentialing questions, and other problems. A legal threat not generally described in the literature to date is the possibility that products liability claims could be brought against manufacturers and distributors of hardware, software, and peripherals used in providing telemedicine services. Several of these concerns extend to picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), including, of course, teleradiology. This article considers that possibility in the context of several potential plaintiffs' theories, discusses currently applicable law, and proposes approaches to diminishing the magnitude and severity of this potential threat.