How to ensure remote consultation services are safe

The second part of CSP guidance on remote consultations covers how you can mitigate risks and provide a safe service to your patients

To optimise safety – governance, policy and standard operating procedures should include:

High quality referral and triage processes to inform initial decisions
Safety risk assessment and strategies to mitigate risk – including physical and safeguarding considerations and escalation plans for unexpected events
Urgent referral pathways for in-person assessment and/or investigation
Information governance including confidentiality and data protection with particular focus on the challenge of privacy/confidentiality in the patient’s home or other environment
Infection control measures and risk assessments based on government and local advice considering the vulnerability of patients and staff

To support this, organisations and service leads should:

Governance, policy and standards should be developed using staff feedback and public and patient engagement with a continuous evaluation and service improvement focus
They should explore the clinical safety of any platforms and/or devices and the environments being used to deliver clinical services

Data should be able to flow safely, appropriately and efficiently between systems used to deliver clinical services
Ensure systems and processes are set up to support the collection and evaluation of safety data. Data should include:
– Safety issues and adverse events
– Monitoring the safety of hybrid models of service delivery

Help staff to develop knowledge and competence in following the policies, standard operating procedures and data collection to support hybrid models of service delivery. Learning and development needs must be reviewed regularly

Monitor and proactively support the wellbeing of the workforce, recognising that new models of working will present different challenges that will evolve as practitioner’s develop confidence and competence in undertaking a hybrid approach or when utilising unfamiliar virtual platforms

Engage with the physiotherapy workforce and with patients/the public to explore the perception of risk with different consultation approaches. Work on ways to promote patient engagement, and develop strategies and information to support shared decision making

Be able to explain and apply governance, policy and standard operating procedures to patients as part of shared decision making, feeding back to your organisation when these are not meeting the needs of your patients or if the service is not correctly resourced

Support safety, continuous evaluation and improvement by being actively engaged with service development and QI

Join the CSP’s online community DIPG to find out more about the exciting opportunities and challenges that technology offers members of the physiotherapy profession and patients
Share and read about other’s work in the CSP Innovations Database

Be actively involved in the collection and sharing of data, and act on recommendations following any safety issues or adverse events, utilising the appropriate pathways to escalate concerns

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has a useful resource – high level principles that define how registrants should act to prevent harm and safeguard their patients with a focus on remote consultations

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