A patient joining a phone or video consult faces a different setting from the consulting room. Who can hear them? What can you assess remotely? What happens if the call drops out?

For Australian clinicians, a useful consent discussion connects the patient's choice of remote care to the consult you can safely provide. Clear explanations, a specific decision and a concise record help keep that choice meaningful as circumstances change.

What consent for telehealth covers

Consent for telehealth is the patient's informed agreement to receive a particular consult by telephone or video. The discussion explains how that format will work, its relevant benefits and limitations, and the available alternatives.

For doctors, the Medical Board's telehealth guidelines say doctors should apply the usual informed-consent principles, explain alternatives and keep assessing whether remote care is appropriate. The patient's agreement does not make an unsuitable remote assessment safe.

For routine care with a patient who can make this decision, clinical suitability and informed agreement are separate questions.

Keep the remote-care choice distinct from other decisions:

• Consent to a treatment, test or procedure discussed during the consult.
• Agreement to a support person, interpreter or other attendee being present.
• Consent to recording or using an artificial intelligence (AI) scribe.
• Privacy notices and the legal basis for collecting, using or disclosing health information.
• Financial consent and Medicare billing arrangements.

These topics may arise in the same conversation, but a single “yes to telehealth” does not settle them all. Our AI scribe consent guide covers that separate decision.

Is verbal consent enough, or do you need a signed form?

In general practice, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) recommends obtaining verbal informed consent to proceed by phone or video and documenting it in the patient's medical record. That is general-practice telehealth guidance, rather than one rule for every profession and setting.

The Medical Board's guideline does not prescribe a single signed telehealth consent form. A service may use a written form as part of its process, but a signature cannot replace the explanation or resolve a patient's unanswered question. Apply any written-consent requirements for your setting; the general-practice recommendation does not override them.

Treatment consent has its own requirements. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care explains that the appropriate form of consent for a treatment, test or procedure depends on factors including risk, complexity, law and health-service policy. Its clinician consent guidance should not be read as a blanket rule that every telehealth consult needs, or never needs, written consent.

When to discuss the remote-care choice

Give patients information about phone or video care before the appointment where practical. Explain how they will connect, the available alternatives and any relevant limits. Our pre-appointment consent guide distinguishes that preparation from a decision about the care actually proposed.

At the start of the consult, confirm the patient's circumstances and agreement before moving into the clinical assessment. A booking preference cannot tell you whether someone is now in a private place, understands today's assessment or wants another person to listen.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and National Boards' telehealth practice guidance says practitioners should explain what to expect, provide information the patient understands and obtain informed consent at the beginning of the consultation. It also says to reassess clinical suitability.

For repeat consults, our risk-based recommendation is a brief current confirmation when nothing material has changed. Give a fuller explanation when the purpose, format, privacy conditions or limitations change. This is a practical approach to keeping the discussion relevant, rather than a nationally prescribed script.

What to cover in the conversation

Identity and everyone present

Introduce yourself and your role, then confirm the patient's identity using your service's identification process. The Medical Board's identity guidance says doctors should confirm, to the best of their ability, the identity of the patient and other people present at each consult.

Ask who is in the room or can hear the call, including people outside the camera frame. Explain anyone present at your end. In general practice, RACGP's documentation guidance recommends recording other attendees and the patient's explicit consent to their presence.

Useful prompts include:

• “Is anyone with you, or able to hear our conversation?”
• “Would you like them to stay for this discussion?”

A person helping with the device is not automatically the patient's decision-maker. Make space for the patient's own response and address any concern that they cannot speak freely.

The purpose, benefits and limits of phone or video care

Explain why remote care is an option for this consult, such as avoiding travel for a discussion of results. Name the limits that matter to the presenting problem.

Phone care provides no visual assessment. Video can add observation, but it does not provide every part of an in-person examination. Avoid a generic warning that leaves the patient unsure what you can actually do today.

For example: “We can discuss your symptoms and results by phone. If I need to examine you to make a safe assessment, we will arrange in-person care.”

AHPRA's patient-safety reminder says practitioners must explain telehealth limitations and changes in circumstances that may require an in-person consult. Difficulty travelling does not automatically make remote care appropriate.

Privacy and information handling

Ask whether the patient can talk privately and whether the device is on speaker. Use a private setting at your end. If privacy is inadequate, discuss a safer arrangement before sensitive details are shared.

Explain the relevant information-handling facts for your actual service. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) says patients should understand why health information is collected, how it is stored and protected, and who may receive it. Its health information guidance also identifies exceptions to consent requirements for collection and disclosure.

Avoid promising absolute confidentiality or treating consent to phone or video as permission for every later use of information. Privacy obligations vary with the organisation and applicable federal, state or territory framework.

Current location, contact details and a fallback plan

Confirm where the patient is physically located now and the best number to reach them if the connection fails. The address in the patient record may be different.

NSW Health's Agency for Clinical Innovation recommends confirming the current location, address and contact number so care can be escalated, including calling 000 in an emergency. This is a useful safety prompt from NSW virtual-care guidance, rather than a universal national consent-field requirement.

Agree on what happens if the call drops out. RACGP's contingency guidance recommends planning for technical failure and patient distress, and advice about what to do if symptoms worsen. Make the plan specific to the patient, their location and the care being provided.

For example, a lost video connection might lead to a call back. Continuing by phone still depends on whether the assessment can safely proceed without video. Urgent care needs take priority over reconnecting or finishing a consent script.

If remote assessment is unsafe, explain the appropriate next care setting and arrange escalation. The Medical Board says doctors should make handover and follow-up arrangements when indicated. The plan should make clear who will take the next action, rather than leave the patient unsure where to get help.

Understanding and a voluntary decision

Invite questions, leave time for an answer and ask whether the patient is comfortable proceeding by the proposed format. Explain that they can ask to stop or discuss another option during the consult. Where understanding is uncertain, ask them to explain a relevant point in their own words, such as what will happen if an examination is needed.

Use an interpreter or accessible communication support when needed. AHPRA's communication guidance says practitioners should take practical steps to meet language, cultural, accessibility and communication needs.

If decision-making capacity is in question, use the applicable capacity and substitute decision-making framework. The Commission's decision-making guidance explains that capacity can be decision-specific and that legal requirements differ by jurisdiction. A relative's presence or signature alone does not establish authority to decide.

Revisit consent when the conditions change

We recommend pausing when a change affects what the patient agreed to. Explain the new situation, offer appropriate options and record the response.

Declining telehealth calls for an appropriate alternative care plan. Do not pressure the patient to continue or promise that every service can offer an immediate in-person appointment. Record the decision and any arrangements made.

How to record the consent discussion

Record the discussion and outcome in the patient record. Keep it proportionate to the consult, including relevant questions, concerns or conditions rather than only a generic “consent obtained” label.

A practical consent entry can include:

• The agreed format, telephone or video.
• The relevant remote-care limits and alternatives discussed.
• The patient's response and any unanswered concern.
• Other attendees and the patient's agreement to their presence.
• Relevant privacy issues, connection fallback and current-location details.
• Any later change, refusal or withdrawal, and the resulting care arrangements.

The Medical Board's record-keeping guidance also says doctors should record the technology type and technical issues. Consent to digital recording is a separate matter; documenting the conversation in a clinical note does not mean recording the call.

A fictional consent entry might read:

Telephone consult. Identity confirmed using service process. Patient alone and able to speak privately. Current location and callback number confirmed. Discussed telephone assessment limits and possible need for in-person examination. Patient's questions answered; verbal consent to proceed by phone. Agreed callback plan if disconnected.

Include only what happened. Remove any template statement that was not discussed or confirmed, and document any issue that changed the decision.

Adaptable example wording

These are educational conversation prompts, not a legally sufficient consent form. Tailor them to the patient, proposed care, profession, service policy and applicable jurisdictional requirements. They do not authorise treatment, recording, AI scribing or billing.

Opening the remote-care discussion:

“Today's consult is by [phone/video] to discuss [purpose]. This means we can [relevant assessment or discussion], but I cannot [relevant examination or other limit]. If remote care is not enough, we will arrange [appropriate alternative]. You can ask questions or tell me if you would prefer another option.”

Confirming the setting:

“Are you somewhere you can speak privately? Is anyone else with you or able to hear us? Where are you now, and what number should I call if we lose the connection?”

Inviting the decision:

“What questions do you have about having this consult by [phone/video]? Are you comfortable proceeding this way today?”

When the format changes:

“The video connection is no longer working. We could continue by phone, but I would lose [relevant visual information]. Given what we need to assess, I recommend [appropriate next step]. How does that work for you?”

Keep the clinical decision visible in the note

The record should preserve the patient's actual choice and the limits you discussed. Software cannot establish understanding or consent on your behalf.

Our clinical AI platform supports draft clinical notes from typed notes, dictation or ambient capture for clinician review. Any AI-scribe consent needs its own discussion before capture. Review, correct and sign off the note so it reflects what occurred, without adding an agreement the patient never gave.

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