Best Practice Guidelines: Telehealth Practice Management



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6. Consultation phase

6.3. Special Investigation Forms

Special Investigation forms are used for further examination, testing and investigation of a patient's condition. Some of these forms include:

  • Custom Forms
  • Pathology Request
  • Colonoscopy
  • Dialysis
  • Dialysis Flow Chart
  • Doctor Note
  • FEM - First Medical Report
  • FEM - Progress Final Medical Report
  • Gastroscopy
  • Gynaecologist Form
  • Operation
  • Physio Assessment
  • Radiology
  • Report
  • Eye Evaluation

After you have completed the general examination of a patient:

  1. You can either determine that you have all the information needed to accurately diagnose the patient and immediately skip ahead to the treatment plan process OR
  2. You can decide that you require more information and the patient should come to the rooms for an in-person consultation (physical examination) OR
  3. You decide that the patient needs to be referred for tests or to a specialist.

If you decide that you require more specialised information or need to refer the patient you should discuss the recommended next steps with the patient. 

Here are some of the possible next steps that can be taken:

  • You may decide that you need the patient to get certain pathology tests done before you can definitively diagnose them. Create and send pathology requests from your software and import results from pathologists.
  • You may decide that you need specific radiology to be done. Create and send radiology requests from your software and import X-ray images and results from radiologists.
  • You may need to refer the patient to a specialist, so create and send referral letters to your patient for subsequent specialist consultations.
  • You may ask that the patient monitor and record specific things for a couple of days and then have a follow-up visit with them to discuss a treatment plan or possible next steps. 
  • Use your software to keep a record of self-monitoring and create follow-up appointments for either in-person consultations or more Telehealth consultations.


Special investigations forms that are helpful during the Telehealth process:

Custom Forms

Custom forms allow users to build their own custom forms according to the needs of the practice. The form can be built with specific questions and pictures or quick notes and free text fields.

Custom forms consist of two sections, the first is for the patient to complete and the second is for the medical practitioner to complete.

The practitioner can review the patient's section and then complete their own.

A form can be built with the following question types:

  1. Short text
  2. Paragraph
  3. Linear slider
  4. Whole number
  5. Decimal number
  6. Date or/and Time
  7. Checkbox
  8. File upload
  9. Image upload
  10. Dropdown
  11. Checked dropdown
  12. Radio buttons
  13. Checkboxes
  14. Signature

Scoring can be set up per question, this allows a question’s answer to be scored according to the scoring setup per possible answer.


Pathology Request

The system allows the practice to send pathology requests to Ampath, Vermaak & Vennote, Lancet and Pathcare. The medical practitioner can select the tests that they want to be done on the patient, send the request electronically on the system to the specific pathologist practice of their choice.

The tests will be done at the branch of the patient's choice. When the tests are done the pathologist will upload the result on the system and a task will be created in the GoodX system for the practitioner to look at the results.

The tasks will be marked with red if the results contain abnormal results for some of the tests and thus require the practitioner’s urgent attention. This assists the practitioner with shorter waiting periods for results and also prevents results from getting misplaced.


Radiology requests

Radiology tests can be requested online through the system or the patient can take the hard copy request form to the Radiology practice. The hard copy can be uploaded to the Radiology practice system. The Radiologist will perform the test as requested, for example, an X-ray or MRI. The Radiologist will compile a report and upload the report onto the system and sent the report back to the practitioner who has done the request. The patient will receive a CD and the hard copy report to take with them depending on the Radiology practice process.

GoodX have integrations with Techmed, Sectra & Millensys.


Specialist Referral 

Referral letters can be sent to a Specialist from the system with all the necessary information the Specialist will need. The Specialist can compile a PDF report and send back to the Practitioner to be uploaded on the Practitioner's system.