Cathy Genna shares with us the marvels of a consult over cyberspace. If any others are thinking of venturing into this medium, I offer a gentle reminder that any non-face-to-face consultation still has to operate under the "rules" of a traditional visit. So -- you need a consent to consult, and you need to chart, and you may need to communicate with other health care providers about the visit. A private practitioner should be compensated for the time -- altho LCinPPs have lots of business-savvy ways to handle compensation for follow-up and care plan tweaks. How do you get a "signed" consent over Skype? Go for verbal when you are on the camera, and add a note to the file. "Mom--see this piece of paper in my hand? It is the consent form I would customarily have you sign if we were face-to-face. Let me read it to you [and yes, you have to read it to her]. Mom, do you agree with everything in this form?" When she answers "Yes," *you* write on the consent form: "After IBCLC orally read this form, verbal consent was given by [client name] during our Skype consult of 20 April 2010" [or whenever]. If you are really clever, you will e-mail the form to her before your scheduled Skype time. When you see each other on camera, you'll say "Mom, did you read, and do you agree with, the consent form I sent you?" When she says "Yes" you'll write something like "Mom received consent form by e-mail prior to our Skype consult. She reports during our 20 April 2010 Skype consult that she received, read and agrees with the consent form." Liz Brooks JD IBCLC FILCA Wyndmoor, PA, USA *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome