Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Call-back number
- A direct telephone number, confirmed at the start of a remote consultation, on which the clinician can reach the patient again if the connection is lost.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Chaperone
- A trained, impartial person present during an intimate examination or sensitive consultation to support and protect the patient and the clinician.
- Contemporaneous record
- A note written at the time of, or immediately after, a consultation so that it accurately reflects what happened.
- Conversion to in-person care
- The decision, during or after a remote consultation, that the patient needs a face-to-face assessment, together with arranging that assessment or onward referral.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law that sits alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation and governs how personal information is handled.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers doctors in the UK and sets the professional standards they must meet, including the guidance Good medical practice.
- Good medical practice
- The General Medical Council's core guidance setting out the professional standards expected of all registered doctors.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting out the fundamental standards of safety and quality that registered providers must meet, enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
- Information governance
- The framework for handling people's personal and health information legally, securely and appropriately.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Locum, bank or sessional
- Ways of working other than as a permanent (substantive) employee: a locum covers temporarily, bank staff are called on as needed, and sessional staff work agreed sessions.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The law that protects and supports people who may be unable to make particular decisions for themselves.
- Modality
- The means by which a consultation is carried out, for example by video or by telephone; recorded in the patient's notes for every consultation.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Person-centred care
- Care that is shaped around the individual's needs, wishes and preferences, required under the regulations.
- Pharmacist prescriber
- A pharmacist who has completed extra training that allows them to prescribe medicines within their competence.
- Red flag
- A symptom or sign that may point to a serious underlying problem and should prompt urgent assessment.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the Care Quality Commission as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Remote consultation
- A clinical consultation carried out at a distance, where the clinician and patient are not in the same room, delivered by live video or by telephone.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Safety-netting
- Clear advice given to the patient on what to expect, which symptoms or changes should prompt them to seek further help, how urgently, and from where.
- Signposting
- Directing a patient to another service that is better placed to help with their need.
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction setting out how a particular task is to be carried out consistently and safely.
- Telephone consultation
- A remote consultation using voice only, with no visual information available to the clinician.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Video consultation
- A remote consultation using live two-way audio and video, allowing limited visual assessment as well as conversation.