Telehealth is available in MedicalDirector Clinical and is accessible via the sidebar. Telehealth will be free until at least 31st July, 2020 to support practices during COVID-19.
Charges may apply for Telehealth functionality at a later date. MedicalDirector will notify customers of these charges in advance. Charges related to SMS reminders continue to apply where this feature is used in conjunction with Telehealth.
The Helix Telehealth widget provides MedicalDirector Clinical users with a secure video platform for conducting Telehealth consults with patients. Practitioners and Allied Health can easily create consults and join video meetings with patients at any time, eliminating the need for travel using any device (mobile, desktop web browser). Appointments created via the Helix Telehealth widget are not synchronised with your practice management software. If you are using Pracsoft or Bluechip with Clinical, you will need to first create the appointment in Pracsoft or Bluechip first and then create the consultation in Clinical via ‘Helix Telehealth’ widget.
Enabling the Telehealth Widget
To use the Helix Telehealth widget you must first install it and then use it to register for Telehealth services.
For general information on the Sidebar and how to install widgets, see Sidebar and Adding New Widgets for help.
It is recommended that your practice's principal contact complete this initial setup and registration process first, after which they can invite others to your practice.
Antivirus and Environmental Considerations
Please be aware that in some environments access to the Helix Telehealth widget may be restricted, if you receive errors trying to access the widget please discuss these restrictions with your systems administrator.
Your practice Firewall or Antivirus software may block the Helix Telehealth widget, so please add following two URLs to the exceptions list:
For a complete list of MedicalDirector exceptions to be included in your Firewall and Antivirus, see:
If you are having any issues with your account, please contact a Customer Service agent via Live Chat during support hours, or call 1300 300 161
Activating the Helix Telehealth Widget
1. Add the ‘Helix Telehealth’ widget to the Sidebar.
2. Locate the ‘Helix Telehealth’ widget in the Sidebar.
3. Click 
to register for Telehealth services. You are presented with the Login window.
4. As this is the first time you have accessed the Helix Telehealth widget, you must now register to use the service. Click 
The Sign Up window appears.
Enter the following information:
o Your email address
o A password. Your password must meet following requirements:
• At least 8 characters
• At least 1 lower case alphabetical character
• At least 1 upper case alphabetical character
• At least 1 number
5. Click 
to proceed.
o You will receive a verification email to reply to, after which you can login to the Helix Telehealth widget.
6. Upon logging into the widget, you will be presented with the home screen where you can:
o Search for patients to schedule a Telehealth consultation for
o Search for consultations of any doctor for a period of time
o View upcoming/booked consultations
o View past consultations
Scheduling a Telehealth Consultation in Clinical
1. Either:
o Open the patient's record Clinical. The Helix Telehealth widget is automatically populated with the patient's details. Continue now to Step 2.
o Conduct a search for a patient by clicking Search Patients...
...and selecting the patient via the results. Click 
to create the appointment. Continue now to Step 3.
2. By default it is assumed you wish to create a new appointment/consult. You can also view upcoming (next in queue), booked and past consults.
3. Scroll down to the Appointment Date/Time section, and create a new consultation/appointment by selecting the date, time and duration.
o You can create multiple consultations.
4. Click 
to create the consultation. The patient receives an email or SMS (depending on your selection) containing the consultation link and details.
o The link becomes valid 5 minutes prior to the scheduled consult time, and remains valid for 2 hours from the scheduled consult time.
o If you need to re-send the Telehealth appointment details you can do so via the Upcoming Consultations link on the widget home screen.
o The SMS charge is independent of your subscription with MedicalDirector or any third-party SMS providers you may be working with.
Conducting a Telehealth Consultation in Clinical
1. Open the patient's record Clinical and access the Helix Telehealth widget.
2. Select the Upcoming menu option. Locate the consultation you with to commence.
3. Click 
to initiate the video consult with the patient.
4. Patient joins the Helix Telehealth meeting by clicking the URL emailed to them when you created the consult. Alternatively you can send the link by clicking 
and pasting the link into an email to your patient.
Billing and Medicare Benefits Schedule Considerations
The Medicare Benefits Schedule window in Clinical allows you to associated Medicare Item Numbers with a patient's visit. If you run MedicalDirector Pracsoft in conjunction with Clinical, you can configure Pracsoft to 'listen' for when such items are added to the patient's record, at which time the patient will be automatically added to Pracsoft's Waiting Room, complete with Service Items ready to be billed.
See Medicare Benefits Schedule for more information.