Care, with clear responsibilities.

1. Authorised care-home access

Applications require FM Med approval. The home must provide accurate contact details, nominate authorised staff, protect its login, remove access when staff leave, and use information only for residents’ legitimate care. Each home’s resident profiles are separate. Do not access or disclose another person’s information without lawful authority. FM Med may suspend or close accounts for misuse, security concerns or termination of the service agreement.

2. Resident consent and authority

The home must explain the service, remote-care limitations, information sharing and document delivery to the resident and obtain informed consent where required. Where the resident cannot lawfully consent, staff must verify and record an appropriate representative’s legal authority; employment at the home alone does not provide that authority. Record the staff member capturing consent and retain supporting evidence. Honour withdrawal of consent and notify FM Med promptly so that future optional processing can stop, subject to lawful clinical record retention.

3. Clinical assessment and prescription renewals

A request is not a prescription or a promise of treatment. An appropriately registered doctor independently decides whether a remote assessment is suitable, whether medication can be prescribed, and the medicine, dose and lawful duration. The doctor may request a call, records, examination or tests, change treatment or decline a request. Staff must accurately record current treatment, allergies and relevant medical history and must not treat edits to a medication list as authority to administer changed treatment.

The six-month date is a planning interval based on the recorded issue date and later approved prescriptions. It does not extend the validity of a prescription or override shorter clinical review intervals or medicine-specific restrictions. Restricted medicines may require a different assessment and prescribing process.

4. Reminders and automatic requests

Reminders are scheduled two days before the renewal date. If enabled, automatic repeats submit a request for doctor review on the due date. Staff remain responsible for checking the dashboard, reviewing changes in the resident’s condition, arranging timely care and maintaining medicine continuity. Internet, email or system faults may delay reminders or requests. A rejected request requires staff follow-up; it is not repeatedly submitted automatically. Turning automation off prevents future scheduled requests; it does not withdraw a request already sent.

5. Calls and emergencies

Provide the sister’s correct callback number, reason for consultation and access to the resident and relevant records. ResidentDoc is not an emergency or guaranteed immediate-response service. Seek urgent in-person care for emergencies or deterioration; do not wait for an email or callback.

6. Document delivery

By default prescriptions, blood requests and referrals are emailed to the home’s nominated document address. The home may authorise direct prescription delivery to a nominated pharmacy; blood requests and referrals still go to the home. The home must verify addresses, the resident’s authorisation and recipient access controls. Changes apply to new requests. Notify FM Med promptly about an incorrect recipient or missing document. Email has confidentiality risks; use a controlled mailbox and secure devices and report suspected compromise immediately.

7. ScriptMe billing

All ResidentDoc homes belong to the ScriptMe billing group. FM Med records completed doctor services for monthly billing to ScriptMe. Charges to the home, payment terms and collection arrangements are governed by the home’s agreement with ScriptMe. Submission alone does not guarantee approval. Ask ScriptMe about the applicable charges before using the service. Billing records shared with ScriptMe contain service counts and home details; clinical medication lists are not included in the billing summary.

8. Privacy notice under POPIA

We process home contact details and resident names, dates of birth, medication lists, relevant health information, requests, clinical documents and consent records to arrange and provide healthcare, communicate with authorised caregivers, maintain clinical records, secure access and administer accounts. Resident contact details are not required. The home is responsible for its collection and disclosure of resident information; FM Med is responsible for processing within its service. The parties must establish any required confidentiality and operator agreements appropriate to their actual roles.

Information is available to authorised care-home users, treating practitioners and staff involved in care; prescriptions may be shared with the nominated pharmacy. Necessary service providers may process information under appropriate safeguards. Any transfer outside South Africa must have a lawful basis and appropriate protection. We apply access restrictions, password protection and audit records, and require proportionate technical and organisational safeguards. No system can promise absolute security.

Records are retained for necessary care, applicable professional recordkeeping, legal and accounting purposes. Archiving a resident or closing a home disables normal portal use and future automation; it does not immediately erase clinical history. Retention and destruction decisions must take account of clinical duties, legal holds and the circumstances of the record. You may request access, correction, objection, restriction or deletion where applicable by contacting FM Med. We may verify identity and authority. Statutory duties may limit deletion. Report suspected unauthorised access or disclosure immediately to FM Med so that required investigation and notifications can be arranged.

Complaints can also be directed to the Information Regulator (South Africa). The home must make this notice available to residents and lawful representatives before capturing information.

9. Responsibilities and liability

Each party remains responsible for its own acts and omissions. To the extent permitted by law, FM Med is not responsible for loss caused by inaccurate or withheld information, unauthorised account use, an incorrectly nominated recipient, failure to follow clinical advice or events beyond its reasonable control. The home must take reasonable steps to prevent and mitigate such loss. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including liability for gross negligence where prohibited, or removes rights under applicable consumer, privacy or healthcare law. These terms do not remove a practitioner’s professional duties.

10. Changes and disputes

Material changes will be communicated and consent or acceptance obtained where required. South African law applies. Contact FM Med first to resolve service concerns; this does not restrict access to regulators, professional councils, courts or other remedies provided by law.