Have You Read a Disclaimer Lately?

Some time ago Tim Gee pointed out that a major vendor for an in hospital communication system included the following statement in its documentation: “This product is not intended for use with patient monitoring devices or other patient care devices. Do not use this product as the primary communications tool in health care environments, as it may use an unregulated frequency band that is susceptible to interference from other devices or equipment.” Of course “primary communication” was exactly why the product was being purchased, and arguably what it was being sold for. When discussing Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (here) I have pointed that it is common for CDS creators to in essence say that one should not rely on the output of the product, but instead always second guess the advice provided. This perhaps approaches a warning that I proposed for a product that I thought was seriously defective: DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT. Maybe I was being facetious. These examples may pale in comparison to the following disclaimer for medical image processing software: <The manufacturer> “ SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OF ANY KIND FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES BASED ON ANY DEFECT, FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE SOFTWARE, OR USE OF ANY <manufacturer> DOCUMENTATION, WHETHER THE CLAIM IS BASED UPON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE. <Manufacturer> MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRA...
Source: Medical Connectivity Consulting - Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Tags: Healthcare IT Source Type: blogs