The HPCSA has issued the enclosed guideline to assist healthcare practitioners with conducting remote telephone or virtual platform consultations with known patients. Where telepsychology is involved new patients may be assisted remotely. The guideline has been issued to update outdated telemedicine guidelines in order to assist healthcare practitioners and patients to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic as safely as possible.
Patients known to a practice will be able to consult their healthcare practitioner using a telephone or remote video application. The healthcare practitioner would need to assess whether a telehealth consultation is in the best interests of a patient and when in doubt, the patient should be advised that a face to face so consultation will be preferable. The consultation and consent provided by the patient to proceed with a telehealth consultation must be documented in the healthcare practitioner’s clinical notes. The healthcare practitioner is entitled to charge his/her usual fee for the telehealth consultation as long as the patient has provided his/her informed financial consent.
