Is telehealth suitable for medical emergencies?

No. Prime Medic's online service is not for emergencies. If you are experiencing chest pain, severe difficulty breathing, or any life-threatening symptoms, please call 000 immediately or visit the nearest emergency department.

Am I guaranteed a medical certificate if I book a consultation?

No. The issuance of a medical certificate is at the sole discretion of the treating doctor. A certificate will only be provided if the doctor deems it clinically appropriate based on your assessment. If you are not found to be unfit for work, a certificate cannot be issued.

Is a video consultation required for a certificate?

Generally, yes. To adhere to AHPRA guidelines and ensure high-quality care, doctors often require a video consultation to visually assess the patient's condition before issuing a medical certificate.

Can I get a certificate for any condition online?

Not all conditions are suitable for telehealth. Complex conditions requiring physical examination, restricted medications, or long-term care plans may require an in-person visit. The doctor will advise if a face-to-face appointment is necessary.

Legal Disclaimers Protecting Patients and Providers

Introduction

Disclaimers are a set of statements and checkboxes you have to agree to when you schedule a telehealth visit or get a medical certificate. You may be inclined to ignore them and proceed with your plans, but given their role in the overall safety system of digital health, it is better not to.

Disclaimers in telehealth are intended to protect the doctor from lawsuits; they also protect you, the patient, by clearly stating what the service can and cannot do. For instance, if a line reads 'Not for medical emergencies,' it means someone experiencing a heart attack should call 000 immediately rather than spend minutes booking a video call that is not suitable for emergencies.

These legal notes form the basis of our relationship with the doctor and of standards established by bodies such as AHPRA and the TGA in Australia. This guide sheds light on the means, purposes, and fairness of these legal notices.

Disclaimers form part of the legal framework of digital health. For a broader comparison of legal standing, read our guide on Legal Differences Between Online and Paper Certificates.

What Are Legal Disclaimers in Telehealth?

Legal disclaimers in telehealth are statements describing the limits of the medical service. They explain the scope of the consultation and set patients' expectations regarding the results.

Why They Are Necessary

Physician clinics can save patients who faint during consultations, and telehealth thus has limits in providing such assistance. Disclaimers serve as an "Informed Consent" mechanism by clearly disclosing limitations to patients before payment.

Key Functions

Scope Definition: Allowed illnesses (minor and administrative) are clearly separated from the complex ones (long-term).
Emergency Warning: Making it clear that the service cannot be used for life-threatening situations.
Outcome Management: Making it clear that the patient is not guaranteed a certificate just by paying the consultation fee (that would be the practice of "buying" a certificate, which is illegal).

These rules are very strictly complied with. You can find more about our adherence to these rules from the Legal Compliance and Quality Compliance sections.

How Disclaimers Are Beneficial for Both Patients and Providers

Many mistakenly assume that only businesses benefit from effective disclaimers. The truth is, they provide mutual protection.

Protecting the Patient

Safety: Asking the users to agree with the statement, "I do not have chest pain or severe bleeding", the disclaimer helps to do a last check of the patient's safety by verifying they are in the right place.
Financial Transparency: Disclaimers stating a "No Refund" policy for missed appointments or clinical rejections help protect customers' financial security by clearly outlining the terms in advance.

Protecting the Provider

Clinical Independence: Disclaimers emphasise that a doctor's primary responsibility is to medical ethics and standards, not the customer's demand. This allows doctors to decline dangerous requests (such as backdating) without offending the consumer.
Liability Limits: Explaining that it is the user's responsibility when moral failures happen (like an internet outage), of which the doctor has no control.

Additionally, your data is secure throughout this platform. For more information on how we deal with data, please read our Privacy Policy.

Examples of Common Disclaimers in Medical Certificates

Here are some typical disclaimers you might see when using Prime Medic.

"A certificate will only be issued after a thorough medical evaluation by the doctor."

Purpose: To abide by the guidelines of the Medical Board of Australia. A doctor may not make any promises regarding a certificate before conducting a thorough evaluation of the patient.
Meaning: You are paying for the doctor's time, not a piece of paper. If the doctor thinks that you are capable of working, no certificate will be issued.

"Telehealth consultations are not designed to handle medical emergencies. For urgent care, please contact emergency services immediately."

Purpose: Patient safety.
Meaning: If the condition is severe, do not continue your video consultation; seek medical help immediately.

"Ensuring accurate and honest information during the consultation is essential for effective medical evaluation. Providing false information will invalidate the certificate."

Purpose: To prevent fraud.
Meaning: If you submit false information (e.g., symptoms not suffered or a fictitious name), the certificate is invalid, and the certificate provider is not liable for the fraud, which is the responsibility of the fraudster.

Want to know what a valid certificate looks like? Check the Online Medical Certificates overview.

Legal Standards That Govern Disclaimers

Telehealth providers are subject to legal restrictions on the content of their disclaimers. In Australia, there are several strict frameworks surrounding this issue.

1. AHPRA Code of Conduct

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) imposes a duty of transparency on healthcare providers regarding charges and the types of services they provide. The content of disclaimers, among other things, must be straightforward to understand.

2. TGA Advertising Code

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requires that the information given be accurate and not deceptive. Thus, disclaimers prevent us from making false claims about the advantages of telehealth (such as claiming to cure an illness via a screen).

3. Privacy Act 1988

The Privacy Act 1988: Disclaimers are often included in personal data collection to inform patients that their medical data is being recorded.

Our operations are strictly in line with these laws. For a detailed description, go to our Legal Compliance page.

Patient Understanding and Informed Consent

A patient must see and understand the disclaimer for it to be of any help. Most digital health platforms employ "Click-Wrap" agreements (checkboxes) for this purpose. See Digital Signature Verification for more details.

Active Consent: Before completing the booking, check the box labelled "I have read and understood" to confirm you have read and understood the terms.
Revocable Consent: You may withdraw from this process if the consultation has not yet started and you disagree with the terms.

Note that the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) remains in effect. Disclaimers cannot be used to deprive consumers of their statutory rights (e.g., the right to have a service carried out with due care and skill).

You also have rights regarding your records. See Data Privacy and Access Rights.