Self-Assessment: Telepractice

More and more Naturopathic Doctors are offering virtual patient visits.  Telepractice or virtual care offers many conveniences however there are a number of factors that need to be considered by an ND before providing care via telepractice.

Telepractice is the provision of naturopathic care to a patient for the purpose of diagnosis and patient care at a distance using information and communication technologies.

This self-assessment tool has been developed to help Registrants stay abreast of the policies governing telepractice. It uses questions to help you assess your knowledge of the College’s guidelines and regulatory requirements on telepractice and should be read in conjunction with the resources listed below.

Three Step Process – Read, Identify, Review and Modify

1. Read our resources
All telepractice resources are published on the College of Naturopaths of Ontario’s website.  These resources have been developed to help Naturopathic Doctors ensure that they are meeting their responsibility with regards to Telepractice.

They include:

2. Identify
Identify your processes and practices for performing telepractice visits.  What resources are you using?  How are you ensuring patient confidentiality? Etc.

3. Review and Modify
Review your telepractice processes and complete the self-assessment.  Where you may not be fully in compliance with the requirements, identify ways in which you will change and improve your telepractice processes.

Remember, just because the visit does not occur with the patient in the Registrant’s clinic, does not mean it can be done without ensuring all requirements are met. The naturopathic doctor-patient relationship must exist, informed consent must be obtained, and proper records kept.