Online Clinic UK - PATIENTS’ GUIDE

This Patient Guide describes the healthcare services, which are available at The Online Clinic, Independent Medical Agency. The Guide is available for patients and prospective patients and is reviewed on an annual basis. The Guide can be translated into other languages as necessary. Any comments on the content of the Guide are welcome.

27 Old Gloucester St, London, WC1N 3XX. Tel: 020 7419 5064
© The Online Clinic - 2007: All Rights Reserved - www.theonlineclinic.co.uk

The Online Clinic offers an online Internet healthcare service, which includes private and confidential health consultations, diagnosis advice and prescribing of medicines in relation to the following medical conditions;

The Online Clinic is owned by Online Clinic (UK) Limited a UK company registered at Companies House. The full version of the Statement of Purpose is available here.

Patients who choose to access the healthcare services on The Online Clinic website will normally be self referred, either via the Internet or by means of a telephone call to 020 7419 5064.

The Online Clinic offers private consultations, medical diagnoses and prescribing of some medicines in accordance with patients’ individual wishes, but always subject to strict medical assessment for individual suitability. During an initial consultation, patients will be invited to complete a confidential online health questionnaire and once submitted, will be carefully assessed by a medical practitioner to offer a diagnosis. Once a diagnosis has been made, recommended medications will be advised for purchase along with individual costs. Information will also be given of the expected effects and potential side-effects of each medicine.

A registered doctor will review your submitted health questionnaire. If the doctor wishes to ask you further information about your health, this will be done by sending you an e-mail message inviting you to log in to your personal Online Clinic account where you can communicate with the doctor over a secure network.

UK law prohibits The Online Clinic from quoting actual prices of medications prior to the completion of an online healthcare consultation. The consultation is entirely free and you are under no obligation to make a purchase. The process will take only a minute or two to complete. Payment for prescribed medicines can be made by online credit card purchase using all major credit and debit cards. Online payments are processed confidentially using secure encryption via our servers. We also accept personal cheques and postal orders.

As a provider of an independent healthcare service, The Online Clinic is required by law to be registered with the Care Quality Commission as an Independent Medical Agency under the provisions of the Care Standards Act 2000. As a result, the Care Quality Commission carries out a formal assessment of The Online Clinic service on a regular basis. Following assessment, a written report is published. If you would like to obtain a copy of the most recent assessment report please e-mail: admin@theonlineclinic.co.uk.

Alternatively, please contact the Care Quality Commission, Finsbury Tower, 103-105 Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8TG (Tel: 020 7448 9200) or visit their website at http://www.cqc.org.uk .

It is recognised that there may be occasions when a patient may wish to complain about an aspect of the healthcare service on offer and The Online Clinic welcomes any comments or suggestions from patients. We have a complaints procedure for your information and Mr Robert MacKay, Managing Director of The Online Clinic will be happy to consider your complaint at any time. If you feel you wish to discuss an issue or indeed make a complaint, we would kindly ask that you bring this to the attention of Mr Robert MacKay, Managing Director, The Online Clinic, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3XX or e-mail: admin@theonlineclinic.co.uk

Alternatively, you are welcome to contact our regulatory body the Care Quality Commission, Finsbury Tower, 103-105 Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8TG (Tel: 020 7448 9200) to discuss the issue further.

As part of providing a quality treatment service, patient satisfaction surveys are carried out regularly by The Online Clinic to seek the views and opinions of patients on the healthcare service that is offered. The survey is in the form of a questionnaire and is available for all patients to complete at any time.

We are responsible for producing a written report on the results of any satisfaction survey we carry out. This report is available for existing patients, prospective patients and a copy is sent to our regulatory body, the Care Quality Commission. The most recent Patient Satisfaction Survey report will be available shortly on The Online Clinic website at www.theonlineclinic.co.uk