Doctors should be aware of Ahpra's updated telehealth guidance in response to "poor practice concerns" around prescribing without meaningful consultations.
Ahpra has updated its telehealth guidance, which is aimed at protecting the doctor-patient relationship and addressing issues with single-issue online telehealth providers.
"The guidance expands advice for telehealth prescribers, highlighting poor practice concerns around prescribing that relies on text, email or online questionnaires to assess a patients' needs rather than a face-to-face, video or telephone consultation," Ahpra said in a media release .
There will be little change for medical practitioners, as this week's update is to expand the guidance to other health professions. The AMA has consistently raised concerns about single-issue online telehealth providers, such as those indiscriminately prescribing medicinal cannabis, or providing prescriptions without any meaningful consultation.
We are aware Ahpra's initial media release contained confusing wording, including advice that practitioners should only prescribe "if you've consulted with the patient face-to-face before". Following our enquiries, Ahpra updated the media release to clarify this also includes video or telephone consultations.
Ahpra has also issued the following advice as a point of clarification:
"National Boards do not support or consider it good practice to prescribe medicine or other assistive technologies (for example orthoses or glasses, or mobility aids) for a patient that a practitioner has never consulted, whether face-to-face, via video or telephone. This includes requests for medicine or other health services communicated by text, email or online that do not take place in real-time or are based on the patient completing a health questionnaire where the practitioner has not formally consulted with the patient. The Boards do not consider an online chat to be a synchronous (in real time) consultation."
