Further information about telehealth and virtual care

Practitioners need to understand their obligations and the risks of using AI, mobile and computer applications (apps),Chatbots and/or similar technology to simulate a conversation about the provision of care. If using these technologies, practitioners should ensure patients are aware they are not consulting with a registered health practitioner and routinely check in with their patients who are accessing care via these technologies and ensure their patients are informed of their limitations.

If using a health scribing tool during the telehealth consultation, ensure you inform your patient how it is being used and obtain informed consent for its use. You should ensure you understand your existing professional obligations that apply when health practitioners use AI in their practice.

See Meeting your professional obligations when using Artificial Intelligence in healthcare for more information about professional obligations when using AI.

Practitioners need to confirm this with their PII provider. Practitioners are responsible for ensuring they have appropriate PII arrangements in place for all aspects of practice, including telehealth consultations. Practitioners providing care who are not located in Australia or to patients not located in Australia will likely require additional cover.

Australian registered health practitioners located outside Australia wanting to provide telehealth or virtual care services to patients in Australia are expected to continue to comply with the relevant National Boards’ regulatory frameworks including standards, codes, and guidelines.

Practitioners should:

• be transparent about location and inform patients about any associated risks or impacts
• ensure they have appropriate professional indemnity insurance arrangements in place for all aspects of practice, including virtual care consultations and ensure adequate coverage when based outside Australia
• ensure they are meeting their ethical and legal obligations to protect the privacy of patients and that patients’ personal health information is safely stored. Practitioners and patients should be aware that information may be stored outside Australia and subject to additional privacy legislation and requirements for regulating and storing health records
• check with the regulatory authority for their profession in the jurisdiction they intend to practise and with Australian health services and funders such as Medicare in relation to any other requirements these bodies may have, and
• ensure they adequately maintain quality continuity of care and referral networks in Australia, to enable safe referral of patients if/when required.

Registered health practitioners in Australia who wish to provide virtual care services to patients located outside Australia are expected to continue to comply with the relevant National Boards’ regulatory frameworks including standards, codes, and guidelines, including ensuring they hold appropriate professional indemnity insurance.

These practitioners should check whether they are required to be registered by the relevant regulatory authority for their profession in the country where the patient is located and comply with legislative requirements in that jurisdiction, including for prescribing and professional indemnity insurance.¹

1. Medical Board of Australia; Telehealth consultations guidelines

Practitioners who are registered outside Australia are expected to be registered by the relevant National Board for their profession in Australia before providing a health service² to patients located in Australia, including virtual care services. Limited exceptions may apply in circumstances where the patient is located in Australia, managed by an Australian-registered practitioner, and another practitioner is providing a second opinion or advice to that practitioner.

Refer to the relevant National Board’s website for more information about registration, including when the Board expects a practitioner will be registered.

Information for nurses

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia supports the International Nurse Regulator Collaborative (INRC)’s position statement on Practice location and Inter-country nursing practice. This statement sets out that nurses must be currently registered/licensed in the country where the patient is located unless practising under a mutual recognition licensure/registration agreement between countries.

2. A health service is defined in the National Law as including services provided by registered health practitioners (s.5).

There is a range of information and resources about telehealth and virtual care available. The list below is not intended to be exhaustive and the use of virtual care in your practice may be subject to additional requirements.

• The Chinese Medicine Board of Australia has developed FAQs for Chinese medicine practitioners who provide virtual care.
• State and territory health departments have information and resources about virtual care.
• The Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre has developed a telehealth hub dedicated to telehealth resources.
• The Department of Health’s MBS website has information specific to the MBS items for telehealth.
• The National Strategy for the Quality Use of Medicines provides information for practitioners on things to consider when prescribing, either face-to-face or virtually
• Culturally Safe eHealth Interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Protocol for a Best Practice Framework, Chelberg GR, Butten K, Mahoney R; eHRCATSIH Group. The overall aim of this research program is to produce a best practice framework that will guide the co-design implementation, and evaluation of culturally safe eHealth interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• Your professional association(s) may have profession-specific information and resources about virtual care.