Legal

Telehealth Informed Consent

What you are agreeing to when you book a video or phone consultation — the benefits, the real limitations, how records are handled and what your rights are.

How consultations work HIPAA Notice

Effective date: 7 August 2026  ·  Last updated: 7 August 2026

Telehealth is not for emergencies. If your condition is urgent, call 911 (US) or your local emergency number, or call or text 988 in a mental-health crisis.

You will be asked to accept this consent before your first consultation. It explains what telehealth is, what it can and cannot do, and what you are agreeing to. Please read it properly — and ask your clinician if anything is unclear.

1. What telehealth is

Telehealth is the delivery of healthcare using live video or audio, so that you and a licensed clinician can consult without being in the same room. The clinician can take a history, discuss your symptoms, review information you share, form an impression and recommend next steps. Where permitted, they may prescribe, order tests or refer you.

2. Benefits

  • Faster access, often the same day, including evenings and weekends
  • No travel and no waiting room — valuable if you are contagious, in pain or caring for someone who cannot travel
  • Your symptom history, medication list and allergies are shared in advance with your permission, so less is forgotten
  • Interpreters can be requested when booking

3. Risks and limitations

Telehealth is not equivalent to an in-person visit. You should understand that:

  • No physical examination is possible. The clinician cannot listen to your chest, palpate your abdomen, look in your ears or take your vital signs.
  • Some conditions cannot be assessed remotely at all, and the clinician may end the consultation and direct you to in-person care.
  • Technology can fail. A poor connection, audio dropout or device problem may degrade or interrupt the consultation.
  • Information may be missing or inaccurate, which can affect the clinician's judgement.
  • Delays in evaluation or treatment can occur because of technical or logistical problems.
  • Rarely, electronic transmission may be intercepted despite our security measures.

4. Licensure and where you are

Clinicians may only treat patients physically located in a state where they hold a licence. You must tell us your actual location at the time of the consultation, and it must be accurate. If you are in a state or country where the clinician is not licensed, the consultation cannot go ahead and will be cancelled without charge.

5. Records and privacy

The clinician creates a medical record of the consultation. That record is protected health information under HIPAA. OnlineCare AI handles it as the clinician's business associate under a Business Associate Agreement, and it is governed by the clinician's Notice of Privacy Practices as well as our Privacy Policy.

Consultation records are retained for the period your state's medical record-retention rules require — typically six to ten years — and cannot be deleted on request during that period, even if you close your OnlineCare AI account.

6. Prescribing

  • A prescription is never guaranteed. The clinician prescribes only if, in their independent judgement, it is clinically appropriate.
  • Controlled substances are subject to strict federal and state restrictions and are generally not prescribed through the platform.
  • You must give a complete and accurate list of your current medications, supplements and allergies. Withholding this is dangerous.
  • Prescriptions are sent to a pharmacy you nominate. We do not dispense medication.

7. Emergencies

Telehealth is never appropriate for an emergency. If your condition worsens or becomes urgent before, during or after a consultation, call 911 (US) or your local emergency number, or go to the nearest emergency department. For a mental-health crisis in the US, call or text 988.

You will be asked for your current address and an emergency contact so that help can be directed to you if a clinician determines during a consultation that emergency services are needed.

8. Alternatives

You always have the right to choose an in-person visit with a clinician of your choosing instead of telehealth, and to withdraw from a telehealth consultation at any point without affecting your right to future care.

9. Fees and insurance

The full consultation fee is shown before you confirm the booking. Insurance coverage for telehealth varies by plan and by state, and it is your responsibility to confirm coverage with your insurer. Cancellation before the published cut-off is free; the fee is not refundable once the consultation has taken place, except as required by law.

10. Recording

We do not record consultation video or audio unless you and the clinician both consent in advance, and any recording is stored as part of the clinical record. You may not record a consultation without the clinician's express consent; doing so may be unlawful in your state.

11. Your rights

  • To ask questions and have them answered before agreeing to anything
  • To know who is present during the consultation and in what capacity
  • To stop the consultation at any time
  • To refuse any recommended treatment
  • To request a copy of your consultation record
  • To request a different clinician
  • To be treated with dignity, and without discrimination

By confirming a consultation, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this document, that you have had the opportunity to ask questions, that you understand the risks and limitations of telehealth, that you are physically located in a state where the clinician is licensed, and that you consent to receive care by telehealth.

You may withdraw this consent at any time by declining future consultations. Withdrawal does not affect care already provided.

Questions about this document? Email legal@onlinecareai.com. For privacy requests use privacy@onlinecareai.com. For anything urgent about your health, contact a licensed clinician or your local emergency number.