Who can use this site?
Users of this service must be at least 18 years of age to book a consultation with a practitioner, or if under the age of 18 years, must have present with them a parent or their legal guardian at all consultations. Users of the service must agree to and accept our terms and conditions for the use of the service. For all appointments and consultations you will provide proof of identity with current valid driver’s license or other legal document if we require you to do so.
Release of Liability
This website and service is owned and operated by Visions Combined Australia Pty Ltd (ACN: 169 777 566) trading as “National Telemedicine Doctors”. We operate as an online platform to facilitate the treatment of patients by independent General Medical Practitioners and other health practitioners registered in Australia, who provide medical and healthcare services remotely via a secure video and/or audio consultation. These practitioners use the National Telemedicine Doctors web-based service to offer medical consultations to patients without an in-person consultation which does not include a physical examination.
Furthermore, users acknowledge that medical or healthcare services provided on the website, and by the service, are provided by the medical and health practitioners themselves, with National Telemedicine Doctors facilitating the consultation by means of the web site and the platform; and that National Telemedicine Doctors does not in itself offer or provide the service. Doctors using our website are independent practitioners and are individually responsible for their own clinical decisions, and patients acknowledge they will not hold National Telemedicine Doctors, or their agents, servants, officers, contractors, directors, assigns or successors, liable for any medical or healthcare service or advice given by a practitioner associated with the service. Users of the service agree to indemnify National Telemedicine Doctors against any and all liabilities, losses, claims, proceedings, actions, and expenses as a result of or in connection with the use of the site and associated services.
Use of service not for emergencies or as a substitute for ongoing regular medical care
National Telemedicine Doctors does not replace healthcare from a patient’s own doctor or other healthcare professional, and the patient’s usual doctor or other healthcare professionals is responsible for the patient’s usual regular ongoing medical or healthcare needs. Patients agree to inform their usual practitioner about any medical or healthcare treatment they receive via this service and contact their own GP or another healthcare provider immediately if advised to do so by a practitioner on this service or if their symptoms worsen or their condition changes. Patients agree that neither the practitioners associated with the service nor National Telemedicine Doctors, are responsible for the following up treatment of patients using the service.
Services offered by National Telemedicine Doctors are not suitable in the case of medical emergencies requiring urgent treatment. In the case of emergencies, please contact your local emergency services immediately.
Intellectual Property
The complete contents of the site (www.nationaltelemedicinedoctors.com) are the exclusive property of National Telemedicine Doctors and are protected by Australian and international intellectual property and copyright laws. Use of the site must be for non-commercial purposes only.
Privacy
Users’ personal health and other information is kept confidential at all times. It is a requirement of the Privacy Act 1988 that the security of users’ personal health information is maintained at all times. National Telemedicine Doctors uses advanced technology to ensure and maintain data security. Data is kept secure through a comprehensive set of policies, processes and digital infrastructure including access controls, firewalls, data encryption, intrusion detection, system redundancy, and other security measures. These policies and procedures in place guarantee the protection of the personal information of users. By accessing or using this site and the service, users accept and agree to our privacy policy.
Prescriptions
All prescriptions, referrals and certificates given during a consultation by any of our practitioners are given at the discretion of the Healthcare provider. National Telemedicine Doctors cannot guarantee that a consultation with a Health Provider will result in a prescription being issued.
In the event that a practitioner prescribes a prescription to a patient, that prescription will be sent by the practitioner electronically either to the patient as an ePrescription or a registered Australian pharmacy of the patient’s choice, or if the patient does not specify a pharmacy, it will be sent to an Australian accredited pharmacy situated in an area close to the patient’s home. The pharmacy will then dispense the medication.
Fees
All eligible patients who have a valid Medicare card will be bulk-billed.
Private Patients
Patients who do not have a Medicare card will be privately billed. Private consultation fees vary with the nature and length of consultation.
For example, the fee for a standard (i.e. 10 minute or less) GP consultation is $40.50 and applies even if the consultation is less than 10 minutes. International/overseas patients will also be privately billed and these patients may make a claim for this fee through their travel insurance.
Users must pay the full fee for a consultation and no refund applies if users do not make themselves available online at the scheduled appointment time, or if they cancel an appointment within 30 minutes before the scheduled appointment time. However, if the practitioner cancels the appointment, then the consultation fee will be refunded in full, and the refund will be processed within 3-5 working days (it may take longer in some cases). No refund is available if the outcome of the consultation is a referral to another practitioner or if a script is requested by the patient but not provided by the practitioner.
In the case of privately billed patients, users agree to authorise National Telemedicine Doctors to process all fees and charges relating to the consultation on the credit/debit card provided by the user. In providing payment card details, users agree that National Telemedicine Doctors is authorised to use the credit/debit card provided to make the payment.
Availability of Doctors
Not all doctors are available for consultation to all patients at all times. If a particular doctor is not available at a given time, we will endeavour to offer you an appointment with another doctor on the site who may be available at your preferred time.
Duration of a standard GP Consultation and waiting times
A standard GP consultation is up to 10 minutes, which is usually enough time to for a GP to see a patient if the issue is not complex. If you have several issues, you may need to book a long appointment to allow your GP to address each of your concerns. At the start of the consultation, please try to advise the doctor of all the issues you wish to discuss. If you have booked a standard consultation, i.e. up to 10 minutes, the doctor may not be able to extend your consultation time beyond the initial 10 minutes because, in most cases, doctors have back-to back appointments already booked. However, you can book a further appointment at another time if necessary with the same or a different doctor.
As patients have varying needs, and sometimes may require extended time with their doctor, doctors can at times run behind with their appointments. When this happens, you may be required to wait beyond the appointed time for your appointment. This is unavoidable, and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. Your doctor will call you on the phone number you have provided as soon as he/she is available.
Physical examination may be necessary
In some circumstances you may require a physical examination and/or certain diagnostic tests, in which case the doctor may decide you need a referral to another health practitioner for a face-to-face consultation or further investigations.
Cancellation
If for any reason, we need to cancel your account, National Telemedicine Doctors reserves the right to do so and may decline you service at any time without explanation.
Unauthorised use
Your account will not be accessed or used by other user(s) and you will take all reasonable steps to stop a third party gaining access to your account.