Patient safety paramount in updated telehealth guidance

News

07 Oct 2025

The guidance for telehealth and virtual care has been updated to ensure patients receive high-quality care – whether it be in-person, over-the-phone or online.

Key points

Revised telehealth guidance ensures proper consultation and practitioner accountability.
Changes reflect concerns around unethical practice and emerging business models focused more on profit than patient safety.
New case studies to help practitioners avoid common telehealth pitfalls and mistakes.

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 consultation.

‘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,’ Ahpra Chief Executive Officer, Justin Untersteiner said.

The updated guidance is consistent with the Medical Board of Australia’s guidelines, Telehealth consultations with patients, and confirms there are the same expectations for all practitioners when providing safe and effective telehealth services.

The guidance reinforces 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 isn’t compromised by commercial gain or convenience.

‘As a health practitioner, your duty of care to your patients should always come first. That responsibility sits with you – not your employer,’ said Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Chair, Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey.

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 like AI scribes

only prescribing if you’ve consulted with the patient face-to-face before

letting patients know when telehealth may not meet their care needs, and when they may need to access other options like in-person appointments

confirming the patient is who they say they are.

National Boards have also developed case studies for safe use of telehealth, identifying common mistakes like prescribing in an initial telehealth consultation or opting for telehealth when a face-to-face consultation is necessary.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, one in four people had a telehealth consultation in 2023-24. Ahpra will continue to work closely with other regulators to monitor the growth and use of telehealth and whether further regulation needed.

The growth in telehealth services has been accompanied by an increase in concerns raised with Ahpra, with 586 notifications recorded in 2024-25. All matters are taken seriously, and recent tribunal decisions have reaffirmed that the same professional obligations apply whether consultations are in-person or by telehealth.

Background

Information for the public who use telehealth and virtual care is available on the Ahpra website and has helpful advice on what to expect during a telehealth consultation and finding the right practitioner. These resources continue to be reviewed and updated as necessary.