The Covid-19 pandemic led to the development of remote appointments from their doctors since most patients would prefer receiving medical services from their homes. Besides, the increase in the adoption of remote doctors’ services caused the increase in the use of online medical certificates in the country where Australians can get their medical certificates through mobile phones or a computer. A medical certificate should be obtained from a medical practitioner who is registered with the Australian Medical Board. One can check to ensure that the medical practitioner whose name appears on the medical certificate is a registered one. To do this, one is required to the website of the AHPRA https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Registration/Registers-of-Practitioners.aspx
The online medical certificates are valid and legal as long as they meet the guidelines given by the medical board on the online clinical consultations. Besides, the guidelines listed by the board almost resemble those that one would expect from the consultations done face to face. For instance, as one would expect the face-to-face consultations to have an accurate record-keeping and appropriate assessment of the conditions of the patients, the same case applies to the online consultations. The client should know what is contained in the medical certificate as well as the charges that are incurred against the services offered, whether the medical certificate is in the form of a digital document or a physical one.
There are times that a patient can challenge a medical certificate offered to them, especially the online medical certificate where the patient and the doctor are not physically in contact. Besides, one can doubt that an employee has been issued an invalid medical facility thus being forced to challenge them. The process of challenging the medical certificate starts by getting permission from the employee to speak with the employee’s doctor who issued the online medical certificate or even the physical one.
One can challenge the medical certificate presented by the employee’s doctor that seems not right through the presentation of valid evidence that is not in line with the information presented in the medical certificate. However, one should be sure that the evidence and the information is given support the claim are appropriate and there was enough gathering of information. Furthermore, a medical practitioner has a choice to decline the issuing of a medical facility. For instance, a client may request a medical certificate retrospectively and the doctor has some doubts on the reality of issues presented by the client, therefore, rejecting the patient’s request.
An online medical certificate, therefore, plays a significant role in the improvement of healthcare in Australia where the citizens can access medical services from their most convenient place and time. Besides, it is easy to access the services as multiple online websites offer such services. For instance, phenixhealth.com.au is an online platform where one can get medical assistance online in Australia. On such a website, one can access an online medical certificate and get more information and knowledge about the online certificate. To get an online medical certificate, one is required to submit a request through the website app which incurs charges. Then fill in the questionnaire which the doctor reviews and if approved, it is sent to the inbox after a short time.
Imai, C., Hall, L., Lambert, S. B., & Merollini, K. M. (2020). Presenteeism among health care workers with laboratory-confirmed influenza infection: A retrospective cohort study in Queensland, Australia. American journal of
Phenix Health delivers online health services 24/7 provided by Australian doctors and healthcare professionals.