This guide offers best practices to support you in delivering high-quality care to Nova Scotia patients through the VirtualCareNovaScotia (“VCNS”) Basic Care program.
Consultation and Medical Record Requirements
As a reminder, all consultations conducted on Maple must include:
An appropriate history pertinent to the presenting issue;
Any relevant physical examination that can be conducted virtually; and
Clear documentation of the assessment and plan.
As part of this, all video and audio consultations must be accompanied by appropriate charting (e.g. SOAP note). If your consultation is conducted through secure messaging only, you must still ensure appropriate charting through your chat transcript.
Your charting must be clear enough for other treating providers to understand your diagnostic reasoning, differential considerations, and clinical decisions. While clinical notes don’t need to be exhaustive, they should provide a complete and accurate picture of the clinical situation.
Recommending Full Care
During your Basic Care visit, you can redirect patients to the Full Care program if:
They require lab or diagnostic imaging (DI) requisitions and/or they need specialist referrals — note that they must be unattached patients i.e., they do not have a primary care provider
They need a referral for non-urgent in-person care — the wait time for an in-person clinic appointment is approximately 30 days. Nova Scotia Health (NSH) Full Care providers conduct their own assessment of the patient before determining if a referral to in-person care is required. This appointment will be scheduled by the patient and the NSH team. Do not recommend Full Care for urgent in-person care needs.
Important: You must conduct a complete assessment and ensure appropriate charting before issuing a Full Care recommendation.
Prescription Renewals
If you’re seeing a patient for a prescription renewal, you must conduct a complete assessment and ensure appropriate charting.
Review side effects, follow-up needs, and other relevant considerations to ensure safe and effective care.
Webside Manner
Dedicate adequate time and attention to each patient.
Avoid using ALL CAPS, ellipses (...), or exclamation marks (!) in text communication as these can seem unprofessional.
Maintain a respectful and professional tone throughout the consultation.
Conduct consultations in private areas to ensure patient confidentiality.
Use neutral backdrops and ensure proper lighting for video calls.
Audio and video availability: While most patients prefer to interact through secure messaging, be prepared to initiate audio/video calls when clinically indicated or upon patient request.
Patient Identity Verification
For patients older than 16, you must verify their identity with their health card and one additional government-issued ID including a photo.
For patients under 16, verify only their health card.
If the patient doesn’t present you with a valid Nova Scotia Health Card, please complete the consultation without charge.
Patients awaiting a new card can upload proof of renewal.
No-Show Policy
Click here to see the details. Please ensure that you are accurately documenting if a patient is a no-show.