When online prescribing may not be the right fit

The GP may not prescribe when information is insufficient, risks cannot be assessed safely online, monitoring or examination is needed, or legal or continuity requirements point to another pathway. The reason and next step depend on the individual request.

No service should imply that every medicine can be prescribed online. The GP must assess the person, request, available information and setting, and may decline or redirect the request.

The decision depends on your health, the medicine being discussed, the information available and whether telehealth is an appropriate setting. You can tell the GP exactly what you want to discuss, and they will explain whether they can prescribe, need more information or recommend another form of care.

Not routinely. The GP may recommend face-to-face care when stricter legal, monitoring or continuity requirements apply. The final decision depends on the assessment and the rules that apply where the GP and patient are located.

No. Previous use is part of the history, but it does not remove the need to reassess current health, effects, interactions, monitoring and continuity. The GP may prescribe, seek more information or recommend another service.

A first consultation can include a prescription discussion, but it does not promise that prescribing will occur. The GP must decide whether the real-time assessment and available information meet the standard needed, and may require in-person or continuing care instead.

The GP may recommend examination, tests, observation, follow-up or another practitioner rather than prescribe for an uncertain cause. Seek urgent care if symptoms are severe, rapidly worsening or unsafe.

The GP may direct you to an in-person practitioner or service that can perform the examination. An online consultation cannot replace a hands-on assessment when the GP considers it necessary.

The GP may recommend updated monitoring before deciding whether prescribing can proceed. The type, timing and provider depend on your circumstances and should not be assumed before the consultation.

Tell the GP, because both medicine exposure and untreated health conditions can matter. Do not start, stop or change a medicine without individual advice; the GP may recommend another practitioner or further assessment.

Call 000 for severe breathing difficulty, collapse, unresponsiveness, a seizure, severe confusion or another severe, sudden or rapidly worsening symptom. If you feel unsafe or think the situation is an emergency, do not wait for routine telehealth.

The GP may explain why and recommend more information, monitoring, tests, an examination, your usual practitioner, specialist input or another service. Ask for clear next-step and worsening-symptom advice, because the decision is not an instruction to stop a current medicine.

Yes. Redirecting care can be the safest outcome when telehealth is insufficient or continuity, examination, testing, monitoring or urgent assessment is needed. HerDoc cannot promise the availability or cost of an external service.

Ask the pharmacy why and whether another lawful option is available, then contact the prescriber if the prescription itself needs review. A valid prescription does not guarantee participation, stock, dispensing, delivery or timing at a particular pharmacy.

Seek review promptly through your usual prescriber or another available health service rather than relying on a last-minute HerDoc request. Ask a pharmacist or doctor for individual advice if interruption may create risk, and use urgent care if serious symptoms develop.