National guidance for telehealth and virtual care has been updated in an effort to ensure patients receive quality care, no matter the format of the appointment.
The amended guidance was released this week and is consistent with the Medical Board of Australia’s guidelines on the topic.
It 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 face-to-face consultations.
Ahpra chief executive Justin Untersteiner said: “Telehealth has been great in making it easier for people to get the care they need. We just want to make sure that convenience doesn’t come at the cost of safety or quality.”
The updated guidance reinforced there were the same expectations for all practitioners when providing safe and effective telehealth services, Ahpra said in a statement.
It is understood one in four Australians had a telehealth consultation in 2023-24.
The growth in telehealth services has been accompanied by an increase in concerns raised with Ahpra, with 586 notifications recorded in 2024-25.
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The updated guidance highlights to practitioners that any healthcare provided through telehealth is the practitioner’s responsibility and not the employer’s.
Practitioners working in telehealth-only clinics, particularly those focused on single treatments or medicines, are encouraged to review the clinical governance framework to ensure the care they provide is not compromised by commercial gain or convenience.
It comes after concerns were raised about an increasing number of clinics offering telehealth appointments specifically for the purpose of getting prescriptions for medicinal cannabis, prompting the RACGP to call for tougher controls.
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According to the new guidance, good telehealth practices include:
- Sharing information in a way the patient can understand and access
- Getting all necessary medical history and background information to make a diagnosis
- Gaining informed consent, especially when using any supporting technologies such as AI scribes
- Only prescribing if you’ve consulted with the patient face-to-face before
It also reminds doctors that they must confirm the patient is who they say they are and that they must let patients know when telehealth may not meet their care needs, or when they may need to access other options such as in-person appointments.
A number of case studies for safe use of telehealth have been developed, identifying common mistakes such as prescribing in an initial telehealth consultation or opting for telehealth when a face-to-face consultation was necessary.
Ahpra has stated recent tribunal decisions reaffirm that the same professional obligations apply whether consultations are in-person or by telehealth.
The guidance is available online here.
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