Tele-ethics in the Age of COVID-19

Both telehealth and distance education can benefit from a mission central focus on tele-ethics. Ensuring ethical provider behavior has long been a focus of healthcare. The burgeoning use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic presented complex challenges for providers and their institutions. This is because the demand for services and advances in technology typically sprints ahead of the development of ethical codes, policies, and regulations. Concurrently, dramatic shifts to online learning in higher education created similar ethical challenges. The ethical similarities between healthcare and online education in telecommunication environments can be categorized as the need to: 1) exercise lawful behavior, 2) uphold the interests of the student, client, or patient as paramount (e.g., ensuring their privacy, security, and safety), and 3) provide accessible online environments that minimize the impact of socio-economic disparities and cultural differences. Both distance education and telehealth can be subject to similar motivations: 1) service to humanity and the “greater good,” 2) profitability, and 3) preservation of the professions and institutions. An overt focus on tele-ethics can inform both endeavors.