Consenting to attend Telehealth Sessions

Thank you sincerely for your interest in our Telehealth service.

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It is important that as a client of our practice, you are aware of [our terms of service] and our privacy policy which sets out how we manage your personal data.

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By using our telehealth service , you agree that you have read and understand [our terms of service] and our privacy statement.

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Requirement to provide contact details and location

As we will mainly be working together by videoconference, your practitioner may need to be able to contact support people in your locality should any issues arise. Please provide the names and contact details of at least 2 people known to you before commencement of treatment.

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Because you may be in varied locations for each of our videoconferences, your practitioner will require you to provide your location at the commencement of each session.

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Assignment of Medicare Rebates

If you are attending a Telehealth appointment with a Mental Health Careplan; the action of consenting to attend the therapy session via Telehealth, gives authority to the practice to process your Medicare rebate in order for you to receive your rebate for the service or for Elementa Psychology Pty Ltd to receive the rebate if the appointment is bulk billed. This is only for as long as the Mental Health Care Plan is valid. Once the number of sessions have all been used up, payment at the psychologists’ private rate will be required on delivery of our service.

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Privacy in online communications

The privacy of any form of communication via the internet or a mobile device is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology.

Our practice uses HealthDirect Video Call.as its means of delivering quality Telehealth video conferencing. This software is Australian and built for the health industry with the support of State and Territory health departments. It therefore meets Australian requirements for the delivery of Telehealth. For more information, please refer to HealthDirect’s privacy statement and their terms of use for callers and guests.

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Please be aware that email communication may not be secure and should contain minimal personal information. The practice tends to use email for administrative purposes such as setting up appointments. If you wish, invoices and receipts can be emailed to you. Please make this request to the practice.

Your practitioner will provide you with suggestions to help you protect your own online privacy for our sessions.

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Please be aware that you are responsible for any costs incurred in relation to the provision of your own software, hardware and data usage associated with this telehealth service.

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Use of therapy session materials

Your practitioner will not make recordings of the sessions or use material from the sessions for purposes other than delivering a service to you. The practitioner will seek your written consent if I wish to use material for other purposes (such as consultation with colleagues).

 

The practitioner will ask you to respect their privacy by agreeing not to make recordings of the sessions and not to use materials from the sessions for purposes other than therapy. If you wish to record sessions or use session material for other purposes, you must seek consent from the practitioner to do so.

 

International Telehealth Service

We believe in free choice for individuals to consult with practitioners that are right for them, wherever they may be. As such, while our practice is based in Victoria, and our psychologists are registered and accredited in Victoria [and other states of Australia], we have opened an International Telehealth Service to foreign clients.

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When you attend a telehealth session with one of our [psychologists]/[practitioners]/[therapists], you do so as an attendee ‘in Australia’. You choose to be served by Australian practitioners located in Australia, using telehealth software hosted on servers located in Australia.

 

While we undertake our practice and offer consultations in Australia:

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• we encourage you to be mindful or and follow all local laws and regulations in your state, province, and country of residence;

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• we note the medical confidentiality provisions which apply in your state, province and country may be different to those which apply to our practitioners in Australia. If this is potentially of concern to you, please discuss this with your therapist at your first consultation. This may affect how our record keeping practices apply to you — for example you may ask that your treating practitioner does not make notes of these services other than a general record of the time and date of service.

 

Our telehealth services are not telemedicine services. Our telehealth services are general psychological assessments, [counselling and group psychotherapy]. We are not medical doctors, and do not purport to be so.

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You should also be aware that:

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• Unless you have a valid Australian Medicare card, you will not be entitled to subsidies or benefits ordinarily available to [Australian residents];

 

• We do not provide psychiatric services — as such we do not offer any medicines, drugs or prescription as part of telehealth consultations;

 

• If you think your condition requires treatment using medication, you should consult your local GP or local provider of psychiatric services;

 

• [Following an initial consultation with you], we may determine that your needs are better served by a local practitioner who can attend to your specific needs — and as such we may decline to offer further telehealth consultations with you.

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Fees

The fee per consultation is set by the individual practitioner and depends upon their years of experience. The fee will have been discussed with you at the initial booking. Fees are subject to change and this may occur during the course of treatment. Appointments before 8:30 am, from 5:00pm and on weekends/holidays attract a $30 surcharge. Payment is by EFTpos, Mastercard, Visa, cash or cheque at each visit.

 

If sessions are covered under a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP it is your responsibility to track the number of Medicare sessions under that Mental Health Care Plan and to ensure that you arrange review appointments and further referrals with your GP as needed.

 

Cancellation Policy

If, for some reason, you need to cancel or postpone an appointment, please give at least 24 working hours notice, otherwise you will be charged the full fee to go towards covering the costs associated with providing the service. Cancellation fees are not covered by Medicare, private health funds or third party payers (eg, Workcover).

 

It is your responsibility to record and manage all upcoming appointments. To assist with this process, Elementa Psychology has an automated system that sends out a reminder text messages three days prior to the next appointment; however, non-attendance due to not receiving an appointment reminder text will still incur a late cancellation fee.

 

Children and Adolescents

Your psychologist undertakes this contract for therapeutic clinical purposes and will not be involved in subsequent preparation of reports for Family Law purposes or liaison with legal parties. As per practice policy *consent of all people with parental responsibility for the child is required. We also require contact details for both parents/guardians prior to commencement of therapy.

 

APS Charter for Clients of Psychologists

Your psychologist is registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) and is a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), and complies with the APS Charter for Clients of Psychologists.

 

For information about how Elementa Psychology Pty Ltd handles your privacy.