Alethea Code of Conduct

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Welcome to Alethea’s Community of Care Providers

As part of our commitment to providing high-quality, efficient healthcare services through the Alethea platform, we ask all our primary care providers (PCPs) and consultants to follow these guidelines. Together, we can ensure that every interaction on our platform adds value to patient care.

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For Primary Care Providers (PCPs) and Referring Providers

1. Getting the Details Right: 
   • Patient Information: Ensure every eConsult includes the patient's full name, Personal Health Number (PHN) or Unique Lifetime Identifier (ULI) and date of birth. ‍
   • Out of Province Information: Please include the additional patient details (if applicable) including sex, full address, and postal code.

2. Why eConsults:
   • Purpose: eConsults are meant for seeking advice, not for direct referrals. Please do your best to include a clear question for the consultant.
   • Comprehensive Requests: Attach all relevant patient history, reports, and images that support the clinical question. If the consultant has requested additional information or documents, please either include them in the eConsult or indicate their availability on Netcare.

3. Staying Updated:
   • Check for Responses: Regularly review responses to your eConsults. Alethea sends notifications via email, eFax, and mobile push. If you opt out of these notifications, please remember to check your Secure Messaging inbox regularly.

4. Choosing a Consultant:
   • In-Person Consultations: Look for the stethoscope icon next to a consultant's name in our portal or app; it indicates they can accept patients for in-person consultations based on an Alethea eConsult.

5. Qualifications:
   • Registration: The provider must be actively registered with the requisite college for the provinces they practice medicine in as required by law and the provider’s professional obligations, and have active Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) or Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS) coverage appropriate to their scope of practice.

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For Consultants

1. Responsive and Considerate:
   • Timely Replies: Aim to respond to eConsults within 24 to 48 hours during business days. If you need more time, let the referring provider know promptly and provide an estimated timeline.

2. Availability:
   • Vacation & Time Away: If you're planning to be unavailable for an extended period, please use our online portal to schedule your away time. This ensures you won't receive new eConsults during your absence, although you might still get follow-up messages for ongoing consultations.

3. Ensuring Quality Advice:
   • Adequate Information: If an eConsult lacks necessary patient information, don't hesitate to ask for more details to provide the best possible advice.

4. Billing:
   • Transparent Transactions: Alethea bills for each initial and follow-up eConsult response sent through the platform. This process is streamlined and transparent, supporting your administrative ease.‍
   • When not to Bill: If you are sending a message that you do not want to bill for (perhaps the message does not contain any advice), you can mark it as “not billable” using the three dots beside the secure messaging bubble.

5. Qualifications: 
   • Registration: The provider must be actively registered with the requisite college for the provinces they practice medicine in as required by law and the provider’s professional obligations, and have active Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) or Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS) coverage appropriate to their scope of practice.

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By adhering to these guidelines, we foster a cooperative environment that enhances our ability to work together and improve patient care. Thank you for your participation in the Alethea community.