Video & Phone Consults Patient Consent, Privacy & Terms
By reading these Terms and Conditions Three Rivers Health understand that you agree to consent to participate in a Telehealth Consultation.
In these terms:
- Telehealth refers to virtual visits that take place between patients and health practitioners via communications technology, this could be either telephone, video, or another method.
- Health practitioner refers to doctors, nurses or other chosen medical professionals that the telehealth consult is with.
Benefits
- A safe and convenient way to receive healthcare even though the health practitioner is in a different location.
- No transport, traffic or parking issues, no childcare or taking time off work.
- Easily fits in with everyday life.
Limitations and Risks
- The health practitioner will not be able to do a full physical exam.
- The health practitioner may still ask you to have an in-person visit after this appointment, which will be fully explained.
- We have taken the upmost measures we possibly can, but in rare circumstances, security protocols may fail, and we may be unable to maintain full privacy.
Privacy and Confidentiality
- The laws that protect your medical information also apply to telehealth. The information disclosed by you during the consultation is generally confidential. Exceptions to confidentiality laws include the requirements to protect a patient or the public from serious harm, report abuse or neglect of children, elderly, or people with disabilities.
- To protect the privacy of both you and the health practitioner, recording of consults is prohibited.
- You are entitled to have a support person present for the consultation. We do ask that the practitioner is informed of all other individuals present for the appointment. Anyone else present are also prohibited from recording any part of the consultation.
Rights
- The rights that apply to in-person consultations also apply to telehealth. You may withdraw the consent to a telehealth consultation at any time before or during the consult without affecting the right to future care or treatment.
Consent to Release Patient Information
- A record of the consult notes from the telehealth consult will automatically be sent to your usual GP (where provided). You will be able to decline this during the consult.
- If the consult involves an ACC claim you must:
- Authorise the health practitioner to lodge the claim with ACC
- Declare that you have provided true and correct information and will tell ACC if the situation changes
- Authorise records to be collected or disclosed to ACC to help determine cover for this claim, determine what entitlements are, or for research purposes (such as injury prevention, or assessment and rehabilitation)
Disclaimer
- Three Rivers Health health practitioners are all physically located within New Zealand and can only provide video or phone consultations legally to patients physically located within New Zealand at the time of the consultation.
Contingency Plan
- In the event you become unwell or have a medical event during the telehealth consult, the health practitioner will call local emergency services and provide your location.
- In the event of a technology failure or poor video quality, the health practitioner will make reasonable attempts to contact you on the phone number provided.
- In the event you and/or the health practitioner determine that a physical examination or in-person consultation is required, the consult will end, and you will be referred to an appropriate medical centre or facility.
- In the event of a privacy breach by you and/or others present (for example if the health practitioner becomes aware of another person in the room or an unconsented recording taking place) they have the authority to end the consult without a refund.
After the consult
- Please ensure you understand the management plan and next steps.
- We value your feedback about our telehealth consults, especially if things didn’t go the way you wanted. By reading these Terms and Conditions we understand you agree:
- To have a video or phone consultation with a health practitioner from Three Rivers Health (yourself or patient name provided)
- To the general terms and clauses around ACC claims in Three Rivers Health Patient Consent, Privacy and Terms
- Not to record or have any other person record or take photographs of the consultation
- That you are physically located in New Zealand at the time of the consult
- To authorise the health practitioner to access any relevant health information from clinical information sharing services (such as HealthOne) which may include results from public hospitals, community laboratories and radiology providers, and community pharmacies. You understand you can withdraw this consent at any time before or during the consultation
- If required, you authorise your (the patient’s) consult records to be sent to your usual GP (unless the health practitioner is advised otherwise)
- That you have legal authority to give consents on the behalf of the patient (if other than yourself)