THE Medical Board of Australia has issued new draft guidelines which warn doctors not to prescribe medication to people via text, email or online in cases where they have never actually spoken to the patient.
The update is part of a wide-ranging consultation process to update procedures around telehealth, with the current guidelines not having been updated in more than a decade.
The revised guidelines note that "prescribing or providing healthcare for a patient with whom you have never consulted, whether face-to-face, via video or telephone is not good practice and is not supported by the Board".
"This includes requests for medication communicated by text, email or online that do not take place in real-time and are based on the patient completing a health questionnaire, but where the practitioner has never spoken with the patient," the document notes.
"Any practitioner who prescribes for patients in these circumstances must be able to explain how the prescribing and management of the patient was appropriate and necessary in the circumstances," the draft guidelines warn.
The consultation document notes that in some emergency situations "it may not be possible or appropriate to practise according to these guidelines".
"If an alternative is not available, a telehealth consultation should be as thorough as possible and be followed up with more suitable arrangements for the continuing care and follow up of the patient."
The guidelines are seen as potentially impacting the operations of several online medical and prescription providers.
Submissions to the consultation are open until mid-Feb - more details at medicalboard.gov.au.
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