Best Practice

Managing patient notes settings

How doctors action patient notes from their PMS inbox

When patient notes are successfully matched to a patient in Best Practice, they will be delivered directly to the doctor’s Best Practice inbox.

If we are unable to find a match for the patient in Best Practice automatically, the notes will be sent to the Dashboard to be actioned.

1. In Best Practice, go to the inbox section, where you will see the patient's name:
   
   
   
    
2. Review the notes left by the Telehealth On Demand practitioner about the consult. These will include a summary of the consult, as well as any medications that were prescribed.
   
   
    

3. Mark the Action to be taken as No action, and store the result in Correspondence In: 
   
   

   No, having unactioned Telehealth On Demand notes in your inbox will not have any effect on your No Action Results.

    

4. The note can now be viewed in the Correspondence In section of the patient file. 
   
                                                                      

How to review and acknowledge patient notes in the Dashboard

1. In your HotDoc Dashboard, navigate to Telehealth On Demand > Patient Notes.
   
   You’ll see a list of patient notes awaiting review. Use the filters at the top to sort by appointment date, doctor, or acknowledgement status.
   
   
   
    
2.  Select View to open a patient's notes
   
   
   
    
3. Review the notes, and add them to the patient's file in your practice management software
   
   
   
    
4. Select Acknowledge 
   
   
    
5. The notes will then be shown as Acknowledged
   
   
   
    

What patients see

During the Telehealth On Demand booking process, patients are asked whether they would like to share the doctor's notes with their regular GP 

Shown if the patient's GP was listed in the previous section

Allows patients to access their own notes as well as, or instead of, their GP

If the patient has opted to receive a copy of their own notes, these will be emailed to them once submitted by the Telehealth On Demand doctor. 

In this email, the patient is also prompted to book a follow-up appointment with their regular practitioner:

If the doctor was unable to complete consultation notes, the patient will be notified via email: 

How HotDoc protects patient notes
 

 We take extensive measures to ensure the privacy and security of patient notes by:

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  • Gaining explicit consent from patients during booking
    Patients must explicitly opt in to having their notes shared as part of the booking process. They also accept the Terms of Service and our updated Privacy Policy, which has been reviewed by our legal team to ensure medico-legal obligations are met.
     

  • Requiring patients to verify their email when they book
    During the booking flow, patients must verify their email address by entering a one-time password (OTP) sent to their inbox. This ensures the email is valid and belongs to the intended recipient before any notes are sent.
     

  • Requiring identity verification before patients can access their notes
    Patient notes are not sent directly via email. Instead, patients receive a secure link and must enter their name and date of birth to verify their identity before downloading their notes. Notes are available to download for 30 days, after which they are permanently removed from HotDoc servers for security reasons.
    
     

  • Limiting access to the notes to only those who need it
    Where the patient has consented, patient notes are shared back to their primary GP's HotDoc Dashboard, and access is restricted to users with specific dashboard roles: Practice Manager, Dashboard User, and Dashboard Manager.

    • These roles allow access to appointment details such as the date/time, patient name, and elected practitioner.

    • To view the full patient notes, users must have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) activated.

    • No person at HotDoc has continuous access to patient notes. For troubleshooting, a role can be temporarily assigned, after which access is revoked.
      
       

  • Minimising the storage time for patient data wherever possible

    • Patient notes are available in the Dashboard for a maximum of 30 days from when the appointment was made.

    • Once a clinic user clicks Acknowledge or after 30 days have elapsed, the notes are redacted and can no longer be viewed.

    • After removal from the Dashboard, the data is completely deleted from HotDoc’s servers.

    • Future updates to the patient notes feature will send notes directly to the GP’s PMS inbox, reducing the storage period even further.
      
       

  • Ensuring notes are appropriate for both clinical and patient viewing
    Practitioners should use their standard note-taking format (e.g., ISBAR) and ensure language remains neutral and clear, as the notes may also be sent to the patient’s email and their primary GP.
    
     

  • Sending data only where the patient has requested
    Patients can request that their notes be sent to their primary GP and their own email. Notes are only sent to the locations authorised by the patient during booking.