This document provides clinical practice principles for telemedicine consulting. It discusses extending good face-to-face practices online by listening actively and focusing on non-verbal cues. It emphasizes the duty of care by clarifying responsibilities and allowing patients to choose in-person visits. Quality of care is ensured by satisfying standard of care guidelines and monitoring outcomes. Patient confidentiality is protected by complying with regulations and obtaining informed consent.

1. Clinical Practice Principles in
Telemedicine Consulting

2. Index
• Extend Good Face-to-Face Practice in the
Online Environment
• Duty of Care
• Communication with Patients
• Quality of Clinical Care
• Patient Confidentiality

3. Extend Good Face to Face Practice in
the Online Environment
1. Provide respect and empathy
2. Listen actively to what the patient is saying
3. Focus on behavior like facial expressions and
tone of voice
4. Take the opportunity to educate patients and
their families

4. Duty of Care
1. Understand the changed power due to the limited
access of care. Let the patient know they can travel to
see a provider instead of participating in telemedicine
2. Give clear and explicit directions to the patient
3. Clarify ongoing responsibility for the patient with any
other health care providers who are involved in the
patient’s care
4. Supervision regarding protocols, conferencing, and
medical record review is required in all settings and
circumstances

5. Communication with Patients
1. Ensure the quality of communication during the
televideo consult. Contact coordinators and technicians
immediately when having technical problems
2. Be aware of, and accommodate, the limitations of
telehealth services, such as thorough exams and test
procedures that are limited through televideo
3. Receive education/orientation on communicating
through televideo
4. Determine to the best of your ability each patient’s
appropriateness for, and the level of comfort with,
communication through televideo

6. Quality of Clinical Care
1. Satisfy the face-to-face standard of care via telemedicine
services
2. Determine if best telemedicine practices exist for your
discipline
3. If best practices don’t exist for your discipline, modify
existing clinical practice guidelines for the telemedicine
setting accordingly
4. Monitor and improve the quality of healthcare to achieve
the best outcomes (e.g. satisfaction survey)
5. Have a systematic method of collecting, evaluating, and
reporting healthcare outcome data (e.g. satisfaction
survey)

7. Patient Confidentiality
1. Be aware of, and ensure compliance with, relevant
legislation and regulations to protect the confidentiality
of patient information
2. Consult with legal counsel and relevant professional
regulatory bodies to determine the processes for
protecting the providers and patients
3. Informed consent should be obtained before starting
telemedicine service or intervention