What's in this template?
This Telehealth Policy gives Australian medical and allied health practices a complete policy aligned to RACGP Standards 5th edition, RACGP telehealth guidance, MBS telehealth item rules, AHPRA Telehealth Guidance and the Privacy Act 1988. Telehealth is now a standard mode of care, the same standard of care applies to telehealth as to in-person, with mode-specific considerations.
The policy covers 20 sections plus a sign-off block:
- Purpose: same standard of care, different mode
- Scope: video, phone, MDT, remote monitoring
- Definitions: telehealth, video, phone, existing relationship, asynchronous
- MBS telehealth eligibility: 12-month rule, exemptions, phone-only caps
- AHPRA and registration: telehealth guidance, jurisdiction, indemnity
- When telehealth is and is not appropriate: clinical decision criteria
- Consent: verbal at start of every consultation
- Patient identification and location: three identifiers, Australia, private setting
- Technology and platform: healthcare-grade platforms, security baseline
- Conducting the consultation: pre, start, during, end
- Prescribing and electronic prescriptions: Schedule 8 considerations
- Telehealth in mental health and at-risk patients: safety check, escalation
- Privacy and security: APP framework, recording, data breach
- Documentation: mode, location, identifiers, consent, examination notes
- Continuity and handover: telehealth supplements in-person
- Telehealth and the Practice Information Sheet: patient-facing communication
- Audit and continuous improvement: monthly, quarterly, annual reviews
- Training: induction, refresh, locums
- Related documents
- Approval and review
Editable placeholder fields
{{practice_name}},{{practice_address}}{{clinical_lead}},{{telehealth_coordinator}},{{practice_manager}}{{telehealth_platform}}, Healthdirect Video Call, Coviu, Zoom for Healthcare, Microsoft Teams (healthcare), Doxy.me- Sign-off blocks for Clinical Lead, Practice Manager and Telehealth Coordinator
Who needs a Telehealth Policy?
Every Australian medical and allied health practice that delivers any care by video or phone. The template is suitable for:
- General practices of any size, most now deliver telehealth as a routine part of care
- Specialist medical practices delivering telehealth case conferences and reviews
- Allied health practices: psychology, OT, physio, dietetics, speech pathology
- NDIS providers offering telehealth as an option for service delivery
- Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHOs) delivering telehealth to remote communities
- Locum and after-hours services routinely operating by telehealth
RACGP and AHPRA requirement at a glance
RACGP Standards 5th edition: Care via telehealth: the practice must provide telehealth in a way that is safe, appropriate and supports continuity of care. The standards expect a documented policy and routine clinical safeguards.
AHPRA Telehealth Guidance: the same professional standards apply to telehealth as to in-person care. The clinician must be registered in the jurisdiction where the patient is located. Indemnity insurance must cover telehealth.
MBS telehealth item rules: most items require an established clinical relationship (face-to-face at the practice within the past 12 months). Exemptions apply for some cohorts. Video is the default; phone-only items are time-capped. Confirm current rules at mbsonline.gov.au before billing.
When telehealth is and is not appropriate
| Generally appropriate | Generally needs face-to-face |
|---|---|
| Mental health support and review | Acute undifferentiated illness needing examination |
| Chronic disease management plan review | Suspected sepsis, severe mental health crisis |
| Medication review (no exam needed) | Significant trauma, suspected fracture |
| Non-critical test result discussion | Any procedure, sample, immunisation |
| Repeat prescription where safe | Schedule 8 prescribing (clinician judgement) |
| Specialist referral discussion | First consultation where baseline exam is important |
| Lifestyle counselling, smoking cessation | Significant communication barriers |
The clinician decides on a case-by-case basis. A telehealth consultation that reveals face-to-face is needed is converted, the patient is asked to come in or directed to ED if urgent.
How to customise this template
- Download the Word document and replace every
{{placeholder}}with your details - Check current MBS rules at mbsonline.gov.au, the 12-month relationship rule, eligible items, eligible patient cohorts, and the phone-only time caps change periodically
- Choose your telehealth platform: Healthdirect Video Call (free, widely used in general practice), Coviu (common in allied health), Zoom for Healthcare, Microsoft Teams configured for healthcare, Doxy.me. Document the choice in the policy
- Confirm indemnity coverage with your medical indemnity insurer in writing
- Set the consent script: verbal consent at the start of every consultation, recorded in the clinical record
- Brief reception: they own booking, link distribution, reminders, and explaining the practice's telehealth offering to patients
- Brief clinicians: identifiers and location confirmed at every consultation, examination limitations documented, conversion-to-face-to-face threshold understood
- Update the Practice Information Sheet: patients need to know how telehealth works at your practice, fees, and what to do if the call fails
Related templates and tools
The Telehealth Policy connects to multiple practice documents:
- Patient Identification Policy: three identifiers confirmed at the start of every telehealth consultation
- Privacy Policy and Patient Data Collection Notice: APP framework that covers telehealth
- Computer and Information Security Policy: platform security baseline, device security, network security
- Data Breach Response Plan: any telehealth incident (call intercept, screen-share leak)
- Recall and Reminder System Policy: telehealth used for routine follow-up where appropriate
- Follow-up of Tests, Results and Referrals Policy: non-critical results discussed via telehealth
- Clinical Handover Policy: handover from telehealth to face-to-face
- Practice Information Sheet: patient-facing communication
- Quality Improvement Policy and Activity Log: telehealth audit outputs
Frequently asked questions
Does telehealth require an existing clinical relationship?
Most MBS telehealth items require an existing clinical relationship, face-to-face with the patient (or any clinician at the practice for general practice) within the past 12 months. Exemptions apply for some cohorts and circumstances. Confirm current rules at mbsonline.gov.au before billing. Where MBS is not eligible but care is clinically appropriate, the patient is billed privately and informed in advance.
What platform should we use?
A healthcare-grade platform, end-to-end encryption, no recording by default, no advertising, no third-party data on-sale, Australian-based servers where possible. The most widely used in general practice is Healthdirect Video Call (free); Coviu is common in allied health. Consumer tools (consumer Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp) are not used as the primary mode, limited and ad-hoc only with documented informed consent.
Do we need to record consent every time?
Yes, verbal consent for the telehealth mode is recorded at the start of every consultation in the clinical record. This is separate from informed consent for the clinical recommendation, which is documented as for in-person care.
What about indemnity insurance?
Confirm in writing with your medical indemnity insurer that telehealth is covered. Most Australian medical indemnity insurers cover telehealth as part of standard cover, but the scope and conditions vary, always confirm before relying on it.
Can we prescribe Schedule 8 drugs via telehealth?
The clinician decides on a case-by-case basis. Many practices require face-to-face for Schedule 8 prescribing as a matter of policy. The standard clinical assessment must be possible via the chosen mode, if it cannot, face-to-face is needed.
What if the patient is in mental health crisis?
A safety check is performed at the start of every mental health telehealth consultation. Active suicidality, psychosis or severe distress requiring immediate intervention triggers conversion to face-to-face the same day or direction to ED, mental health crisis team, or 000 if imminent risk. Where the patient is in their home and at risk, the clinician may arrange a welfare check via police or ambulance, having documented the basis for that decision.
Do we need to know where the patient is during the consultation?
Yes, confirmed and documented at the start of every consultation. The patient must be in Australia (MBS and indemnity requirement). The clinician needs to know where they are in case of clinical emergency.
How do we document examination via telehealth?
The same way as in-person, with an explicit note of "visually inspected" or "unable to examine via telehealth" where physical examination cannot be performed. The limitations of telehealth examination are part of the assessment.
Can the consultation be recorded?
Not by default. Recording requires explicit opt-in consent from the patient. The default is no recording, which is consistent with most healthcare-grade platforms.
Will accreditors accept this template?
Yes, when populated. The policy aligns with RACGP Standards on care via telehealth, RACGP-published telehealth guidance, AHPRA Telehealth Guidance, MBS rules, and the Privacy Act. The consent, identification, location, documentation and platform-security elements are what surveyors expect to see for a maturing telehealth service.