Forensic assessment: the applicability of telemedicine in damage assessment and disability evaluation

Introduction: Telemedicine is a rapidly expanding area, especially in recent months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Social isolation measures resulting from the pandemic have challenged several medical specialties' performance, including forensic medicine and medical expertise. In this context, we aimed to analyze the use of the telemedicine method in forensic medicine and its applicability in damage assessment and disability evaluation. Methods: This qualitative and descriptive review was conducted on articles published from 2005 to 2020 by searching for indexed articles in English, Spanish and Portuguese in the Cochrane Reviews, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SciElo databases and Lilacs. The searched keywords were telemedicine, video conferencing communication, remote consultation, disability assessment, work capacity assessment, expert evidence, medical expertise, and legal responsibility. The search was freely performed, combining the words, and using Boolean operators. Results: We recovered a total of 640 articles, but only 19 were read. We found 14 articles focusing on forensic medicine, which emphasized child sexual abuse assessment, forensic telepsychiatric practices, teleconsultations, and practical, ethical, and legal limitations of telemedicine in forensic evaluation. Conclusion: Forensic telemedicine has been used in specific areas. However, there is no record of the applicability of telemedicine for damage assessment and disability evaluation.