Clinical Governance at Qoctor

Qoctor is a doctor-owned and doctor-led Australian telehealth service, founded in 2016. Since then, our team of Australian doctors has delivered more than 700,000 consultations. This page sets out how we govern the care we provide — who our doctors are, the standards they work to, and how any issues or concerns are managed.

Every clinical decision is made by a doctor

At Qoctor, technology handles the bookings, payments and paperwork — the medicine is handled by doctors, in discussion with patients. Our Medical Director is a practising GP, our clinical policies are written and owned by doctors, and no certificate, prescription or referral is ever issued from a questionnaire, an automated form, or by a non-clinical staff member. Every one follows a real-time consultation in which a doctor makes their own clinical judgement — including the judgement to say no.

We do not:

issue medical certificates without a real-time consultation with a doctor
prescribe medicines based on a questionnaire or text chat alone (in line with the Medical Board’s guidance on prescribing via telehealth)
guarantee any clinical outcome. Payment is for the consultation, and our doctors can recommend an in-person assessment in the interest of patient safety from time to time. See refund policy for more details.

When telehealth is not the right tool

Telehealth is excellent for many health issues, and less suitable for others. Our doctors are trained to recognise the limits of a video or phone assessment and will advise you to see a GP in person, attend an urgent care clinic, or call 000 where that is the safer path. Conditions requiring physical examination, complex or high-risk presentations, and emergencies are not suitable for telehealth. **In an emergency, always call 000.**

Clinical Safety and Quality

Clinical protocols. Our doctors work to written clinical protocols for each service we offer, authored and maintained by the Medical Director and other members of our clinical team, aligned with sources including the Medical Board of Australia, the RACGP, and the AMA’s guidance on medical certificates.
Incident management and open disclosure. Clinical incidents are logged, reviewed by the Medical Director, and managed in line with open disclosure principles: if something goes wrong in your care, we tell you, explain what happened, and act to prevent recurrence.
Continuous improvement. Findings from audits, incidents, complaints and patient feedback feed back into our protocols on an ongoing basis.

Medical Certificates- Our Standards

Because certificates are a legal document relied on by employers, universities and courts,

we hold them to a specific standard:

– A certificate is only issued when, after a real-time consultation, the doctor is satisfied it is clinically justified consistent with the AMA telehealth standards

and the doctor’s obligations under the Medical Board’s Good Medical Practice code.

– Certificates state the facts the doctor can stand behind. Backdating is only considered where the doctor can reasonably satisfy themselves the illness existed at the time, and is declined where they cannot.

– Every Qoctor certificate can be independently verified by an employer or institution using our free certificate verification tool — no account required.

Privacy

Qoctor complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Consultations are documented in a secure clinical record, retained in line with Australian medical record-keeping requirements. Consultations are not recorded. You can view our Privacy Policy here.

Complaints

We take complaints seriously and treat them as governance data, not nuisance. Email info@qoctor.com.au or use our live chat. Complaints are acknowledged within 24 hours (though typically within 1-2 hours during business hours), and are investigated by our customer service team leader, practice manager and the Medical Director, as appropriate.
We typically are able to provide a substantive response within 72 hours, though for more complex issues, the process may take a little longer.
Clinical complaints are always reviewed by a doctor.
External, independent avenues exist for patients and employers both to check Australian standards, and to raise concerns. These include:
- Sick and carer’s leave entitlements for workers in Australia- information from the Fairwork Ombudsman.
- Requirements for medical certificates in Australia- Australian Medical Association.
- Information for employers- www.business.gov.au
- AHPRA

Governance of this website’s health information

The health information published on this site is governed by our editorial policy, including named medical reviewer, visible review dates, and a corrections process.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need assistance, our support team is here to help, from 8AM to midnight. Contact us via email at info@qoctor.com.au, or use the live chat on our home page.