CHICAGO — Increased use of technology to treat injured workers remotely potentially could speed treatment, give injured workers access to more specialists and reduce workers compensation claims costs, but telemedicine also introduces new risks that must be addressed, a panel of experts said. Providers of telemedicine must be located across all states to cope with rising demand for the service and reduce medical malpractice , according to Debra Goldberg , chief operating officer at Sapphire Blue . Speaking during a panel session on telemedicine at the 2017 Workers Compensation Conference in Chicago , Goldberg was positive about the growth in demand but stressed the requirement to ensure conditions that can be treated remotely are correctly diagnosed and to develop a process that can escalate remote treatments to in - person treatment when necessary .
Providers of telemedicine must be located across all states to cope with rising demand for the service and reduce medical malpractice , according to Debra Goldberg , chief operating officer at Sapphire Blue . Speaking during a panel session on telemedicine at the 2017 Workers Compensation Conference in Chicago , Goldberg was positive about the growth in demand but stressed the requirement to ensure conditions that can be treated remotely are correctly diagnosed and to develop a process that can escalate remote treatments to in - person treatment when necessary .