HotDoc's Telehealth mode (formerly known as Telehealth Screening mode) will allow your clinic to use Online Bookings to create a Telehealth appointment that is entered into your book.

• HotDoc Telehealth mode allows you to offer both a bulk and privately billed Telehealth consult option.
  
  
• Telehealth Mode also allows you to accept only Telehealth consultation types online.
  
  

How to create a Telehealth consult

1. Login to your HotDoc Dashboard and select Bookings > COVID-19 Mode:
   
   
   
   
2. Scroll down to the Telehealth section. From here you can choose to setup either a bulk billed Telehealth consultation type, a privately billed Telehealth consultation type, or both.
   
   

   If you do not have a Telehealth Appointment type already set, you will not be able to choose an option from the drop down menu. See How to add, edit or remove appointment types to create a Telehealth consult type.

   
   We also recommend that you link your HotDoc Telehealth appointment type to the Telehealth appointment type in your clinical software, if it already exists. This way it's entered into the appointment book clearly as a 'Telehealth' appointment. 
   
   If you do not have a Telehealth appointment type, you will see the Create Telehealth Appointment button. Click this button to be guided to create a new Telehealth appointment type:
   
   
   
   
3. If you are creating a new Appointment type, we will pre-fill some details (such as name of type and auto-check the Telehealth Appointment box):
   
   
   
   
4. In the Telehealth Settings section you can also choose whether you wish for your appointment type to have No Screening questions or the old COVID-19 Medicare Eligibility questions (see What are the COVID-19 Screening Questions? for further information):
   
   
   
   
5. Continue with the rest of the Appointment setup to choose duration, linking and which practitioners this type will be active for, then select the green Save button:
   
   
   
   
6. Once your Telehealth Appointment type is saved and created, head back to the Telehealth section in COVID-19 Mode and you will see it automatically in place. You will then also have the opportunity to create another appointment type if you wish:
   
   
   
   
   
   

How to activate Telehealth Only Mode

Telehealth Only mode is recommended if your clinic is looking to offer only Telehealth consults for the foreseeable future, or would like to automatically screen for patients who will definitely need an "in person" consult.

• Turning this feature on will only display Telehealth appointment types for the patient to choose from.
  
  
• Telehealth only mode will also remove the need for Patient Screening, even if you have it switched on in the COVID-19 Mode settings.

If you prefer to only offer Telehealth appointments, we recommend that you create Telehealth appointment types to be enabled for 'Telehealth' and to leave the setting disabled for rest of your appointment types:

When setup like this with Telehealth Only Mode on, the patient will only see the option to book your Telehealth appointment types:

An alert will also be automatically placed at the top of your booking page to alert patients to the Telehealth change:

1. To turn on Telehealth Only mode in your HotDoc Dashboard, head to Bookings > COVID-19 Mode and scroll down to the Telehealth section:
   
   
   
   
2. To activate Telehealth Only Mode, select the check box next to Enable Telehealth Only Mode and then click the green Save button:
   
   
   
   
   

What does the Patient see?

Telehealth mode can work alongside Patient Screening to effectively screen your patients for Telehealth eligibility. Below is an example of the patient flow if you do not have Telehealth Only Mode enabled:

1. When both Telehealth Mode and Patient Screening are enabled, the patient will see the following screens after selecting their appointment type and time:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. If the patient selects No to these questions, they will be guided to create an online booking as usual, unless you have Telehealth Only mode on. If the patient selects Yes, they will then be shown this screen to either call the clinic or Book Telehealth Phone Consult:
   
   
   
   
3. If the patient selects Book Telehealth Phone Consult, we will then be asked to choose a new time depending on practitioner availability:
   
   
   
   
   
4. After choosing a time, they will be asked to verify their contact number and email address. If the pre-populated information is not correct, they can update it in these fields:
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. After confirming their details, they will be asked to verify their appointment information one last time:
   
   
   
   
6. After selecting Yes, book now, if the patient is successful in making the booking, they will see the following in their Appointments section:
   
   
   

Setting a Doctor to perform only Telehealth consults

HotDoc have created a feature to assist Doctors who are considered vulnerable to COVID-19 and therefore, must work remotely, to perform only Telehealth consults.

This setting is located in the Practitioner's Profile settings under their Appointment Types.

1. In the HotDoc Dashboard, select Bookings > Practitioner Setup and click Edit on the practitioner you want to adjust to accept Telehealth consults only:
   
   
   
   
2. Scroll down to Appointment Types for your Practitioner, disable all appointment types but Telehealth and select Edit next to the Telehealth consult type:
   
   
   
   
3. You can then edit the Telehealth consult type to have no screening questions (which will allow the patient to book a Telehealth consult without any screening), or to ask the COVID-19 screening questions:
   
   
   
   
4. Lastly, select the green Save button to save your changes:
   
   
   
   

How will the booking appear in the Appointment Book?

If a patient makes a Telehealth consult, they will be entered into your Appointment book with their name and phone number details similar to the screenshot below:

If your Telehealth appointment type has been properly linked, you will also see this come through visually into your appointment book.

Example of how we write back patient details to the Appointment Book

Will the patient receive an SMS Reminder?

If your clinic also uses our SMS Reminders Product, we will send an SMS for any Telehealth appointment type booked (both via HotDoc or with Reception) that reminds the patient that they are booked in for a Telehealth, Telephone or Teleconference consult:

When the patient clicks on the link, the Telehealth message will also be reiterated here:

How will the booking appear in the Appointment Book?

If a patient makes a Telehealth consult, they will be entered into your Appointment book with their name and phone number details similar to the screenshot below:

If your Telehealth appointment type has been properly linked, you will also see this come through visually into your appointment book.

We may also write back any additional information about the patient's answers to the screening questions:

Example of how we write back patient details to the Appointment Book

Will the patient receive a SMS Reminder?

If your clinic also uses our SMS Reminders Product, we will send an SMS for any Telehealth appointment type booked (both via HotDoc or with Reception) that reminds the patient that they are booked in for any of the following appointment types:

• Telehealth
• Telephone
• Phone call
• Phone consult
• Teleconference
• Tele health

When the patient clicks on the link, the Telehealth message will also be reiterated here: