Managing your Consultations

How to chat with patients, handle consultations, document care, write prescriptions, request investigations, schedule follow-ups and arrange in-person care when needed.

Starting a Conversation with a Patient

When a patient subscribes to your Personal Doctor service, sureCova automatically sends them a welcome message introducing them to your care profile. This helps the patient get started and opens the way for communication with you.

There are two ways a conversation can begin on sureCova:

1. The patient starts the conversation

After receiving the welcome message, the patient can send you a message through the app. They may have a question about their health, need clarification about their treatment, or want to discuss a concern related to their ongoing care.

2. You start the conversation

You do not have to wait for a patient to message you. You can also initiate a conversation from your end. For example, you may want to check on a patient's progress, ask about their response to treatment, follow up on a previous consultation, or remind them about an agreed care plan.

These two options allow communication to flow in both directions. Patients can reach out when they need guidance, while you can proactively check on their progress and maintain continuity of care between clinic visits.

Documenting Patient Consultations and Conversations

Documentation is mandatory after every meaningful conversation with a patient on sureCova. Doctors are expected to follow applicable telemedicine guidelines for clinical documentation, particularly when prescriptions are issued following a conversation.

Mandatory Clinical Documentation

Doctors on sureCova are required to document every meaningful clinical interaction with a patient. This includes conversations involving clinical assessment, medical advice, treatment decisions, prescriptions, investigation requests, referrals, or changes to the patient's care plan.

This requirement supports continuity of care, patient safety, professional accountability, and the maintenance of accurate clinical records. Doctors must follow applicable professional guidelines, legal requirements, and sureCova's documentation policy.

Routine administrative messages do not necessarily require a clinical note. However, whenever a conversation involves a clinical decision or meaningful healthcare advice, the doctor must ensure that the interaction is appropriately documented.

Proper documentation helps maintain an accurate record of the patient's condition, the discussion that took place, clinical decisions made, and the care provided.

How to Document a Patient Conversation

To document a consultation or meaningful conversation:

1. Open the patient's chat interface.
2. Locate the three icons in the top-right corner of the chat interface.
3. Select the second icon, which looks like a notepad with a tick inside a small circle. This opens the documentation feature.
4. Complete the documentation and ensure that the information recorded is accurate and sufficiently detailed.

First-Time Documentation

The first time you document a patient on sureCova, you must complete a detailed clinical documentation. This should capture the relevant patient history and clinical information needed to understand the patient's health status and guide ongoing care.

Take care to complete this initial documentation thoroughly. It provides the clinical foundation for subsequent consultations and follow-up interactions.

Updating Existing Documentation

After completing the first full documentation, a fourth icon becomes available in the chat interface. This allows you to document updates without having to repeat the entire history-taking and documentation process each time.

Use this feature to record relevant changes in the patient's condition, new complaints, treatment response, clinical decisions, prescriptions, and other updates arising from subsequent conversations, as applicable.

Remember that updates should be sufficiently detailed to reflect the meaningful clinical information from each interaction. The availability of an update option does not remove the requirement to document every meaningful conversation.

Schedule Follow-Up Check-Ins

See below 

Writing and Sending Prescriptions

sureCova allows you to create prescriptions directly from the patient chat interface. Once you have assessed the patient and determined that medication is appropriate, you can prepare and send the prescription through the app.

How to Create a Prescription

1. Open the patient's chat interface.
2. Locate the icons in the top-right corner of the chat.
3. Select the last icon, shaped like a medicine bottle with a cross on it. This opens the prescription feature.
4. Select Add a medicine.
5. Enter the name of the medication you want to prescribe.

sureCova's drug database retrieves medicines from its global drug register, helping you find the medication you intend to prescribe.

Selecting a Medication and Brand

You can enter the generic name of the medication or specify a particular brand name if that is what you intend to prescribe.

When you use a specific brand name repeatedly, sureCova learns your preference. After you have entered the same brand name three times, the system will suggest that brand whenever you mention the medication again.

This makes it easier to prescribe your preferred brands without having to enter the full brand name repeatedly.

Adding Multiple Medicines

You can add as many medicines as are clinically necessary to a prescription. Ensure that every medicine is appropriate for the patient's condition and that the prescription is complete and accurate before sending it.

Follow applicable prescribing standards, including providing the necessary dose, route, frequency, duration, and other relevant instructions. Check the final prescription carefully before issuing it.

Sending Prescriptions to Patients

Once you have completed the prescription, the patient will receive it in their sureCova app. The patient can view the prescription and choose to download a copy.

Each prescription includes:

• The prescribing doctor's name.
• A unique prescription number.
• A QR code for prescription verification.

These details help identify the prescription and allow pharmacists to verify it before dispensing the medication.

Prescription Verification by Pharmacists

Pharmacists are required to scan the prescription's QR code to confirm that the medication order is valid before dispensing the prescribed medicines.

If a pharmacist encounters a problem with a prescription or has concerns about a prescribed medication, they can contact the prescribing doctor directly using the “Contact Doctor” button that appears below the prescription. Alternatively, they can contact sureCova at support@surecova.com.

When a pharmacist contacts you through the platform, you will receive an in-app notification. You are expected to respond as soon as possible to resolve the issue and avoid unnecessary delays in dispensing the medication.

As the prescribing doctor, ensure that your contact information is accurate and that you can respond appropriately to legitimate queries about prescriptions you have issued.

For more information, kindly review the sureCova Prescription Policy.

Requesting Investigations

sureCova allows you to request investigations directly from the patient chat interface. This helps you recommend appropriate tests as part of your patient's clinical assessment and ongoing care.

How to Request an Investigation

1. Open the patient's chat interface.
2. Locate the icons in the top-right corner of the chat.
3. Select the first icon, represented by a laboratory glass. This opens the investigations section.
4. Select the appropriate category from the available options.
5. Choose the specific investigation you want to request.

Available Investigation Categories

The investigations section contains several categories:

• Lab Tests
• X-ray
• Ultrasound
• CT Scan
• MRI
• Cardiac Investigations
• Other Tests

Browse the relevant category to find and select the investigation you need.

Sending Investigation Requests to Patients

Once you have completed an investigation request, sureCova generates a formal request that the patient can access through the app. The patient can also download a copy to use when arranging the investigation.

Ensure that the investigation requested is appropriate for the patient's clinical needs. Where necessary, explain the purpose of the investigation, any preparation required, and where the patient can have it performed.

When the results become available, review them and incorporate the findings into your clinical assessment and subsequent management plan.

Scheduling Follow-Ups

Follow-up check-ins help you monitor your patients' progress, assess their response to treatment, and identify when further clinical attention may be needed. sureCova allows you to schedule follow-ups directly through the documentation interface.

How to Schedule a Follow-Up

1. Open the patient's chat interface.
2. Open the documentation interface using the notepad icon in the top-right corner.
3. Complete the relevant clinical documentation for the interaction.
4. Use the follow-up scheduling option within the documentation interface.
5. Select the specific date and time for the next check-in and save your schedule.

sureCova will send you a reminder on the scheduled day, helping you remember to contact the patient and carry out the planned follow-up.

Why Follow-Ups Matter

Do not rely solely on patients to initiate conversations. Scheduling follow-ups helps you remain proactive, monitor progress, check treatment response, and maintain continuity of care between clinic visits.

Schedule check-ins according to the patient's condition, treatment plan, and clinical needs. Ensure that the follow-up plan is appropriate for the patient and that any agreed review arrangements are clearly documented.