Telehealth Terms and Consent
1. Scope and parties
These Telehealth Terms and Consent (“Telehealth Terms”) apply to every virtual visit scheduled, requested, or conducted through the Spot Now platform. Spot Now is a scheduling and discovery platform, not a healthcare provider. Spot Now does not practice medicine, nursing, or any other licensed profession; does not employ or supervise the clinicians you see; and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All clinical services are provided by independent providers and their clinicians, who are solely responsible for the care delivered. Your clinical relationship exists with the treating provider, not with Spot Now. These Telehealth Terms supplement — and do not replace — the Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, and any applicable Notice of Privacy Practices.
2. What telehealth is
“Telehealth” means the delivery of healthcare services using electronic communications where the patient and clinician are not in the same physical location. Depending on the service and provider, telehealth may include: live two-way audio-video visits; audio-only visits where permitted by law and clinically appropriate; asynchronous (“store-and-forward”) exchange of information such as photographs, forms, and medical records; and remote monitoring data you choose to share. The information exchanged may be used for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, prescribing where lawful and appropriate, and patient education.
3. Technology requirements
Virtual visits are conducted through secure, access-controlled audio-video technology with a pre-visit device test, a virtual waiting room, and provider-controlled admission. You are responsible for a compatible device with camera and microphone, an adequate internet connection, and a private setting for your visit. A guided technology test is offered before your visit; completing it reduces the chance of disruption but does not guarantee uninterrupted service.
4. Expected benefits
Telehealth can improve access to care (including outside ordinary office hours or at a distance from the provider), reduce travel and waiting time, reduce exposure to communicable illness, and support timely follow-up and management of many conditions. No particular outcome is guaranteed, and the benefits of telehealth depend on your condition and the clinician’s judgment.
5. Risks and limitations
Telehealth has inherent limitations and risks, including: the clinician cannot perform a hands-on physical examination, which may limit or delay diagnosis; the information transmitted may be insufficient (for example, poor image quality) for appropriate clinical decision-making; delays or interruptions may occur due to equipment or network failure; in rare circumstances, security protocols could fail, causing a breach of privacy; and the clinician may determine that telehealth is not appropriate for your needs, in which case you will be directed to in-person care or, where indicated, to emergency services. If your condition worsens or you disagree with a virtual-care recommendation, you should seek in-person evaluation.
6. Alternatives and voluntariness
Telehealth is optional. In-person evaluation and treatment remain available alternatives, and you may decline or discontinue a virtual visit at any time without losing your right to in-person care from participating providers. Your consent to telehealth is voluntary and is captured at booking; declining telehealth affects only the ability to conduct the visit virtually.
7. Emergencies
Telehealth is not for emergencies. If you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency — including but not limited to chest pain, difficulty breathing, stroke symptoms, severe bleeding, or thoughts of harming yourself or others — call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. Do not wait for a virtual visit. Before each virtual visit you confirm your current physical location and an emergency contact so that, if an emergency arises during the visit, the clinician can direct local emergency services to you. In the United States, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text at 988.
8. Privacy, security, and confidentiality
Virtual visits are conducted through technology vendors engaged under required contractual protections, including Business Associate Agreements where HIPAA applies. Transmission is encrypted, access is controlled and logged, and visit details are delivered to your secure account rather than to unsecured notifications. The confidentiality protections that apply to in-person care — including HIPAA and applicable state privacy law — apply equally to telehealth. Spot Now and providers cannot control the privacy of your own environment: conduct your visit from a private location, and be aware that anyone present with you may overhear protected health information. See the Privacy Policy and the applicable Notice of Privacy Practices for how health information is used and disclosed.
9. Licensure, eligibility, and patient location
Clinicians providing telehealth must hold the license, registration, or permission required for the jurisdiction where you are physically located at the time of service. Before a virtual booking is accepted, the platform validates your reported physical location against the provider’s licensure jurisdictions, together with service eligibility, age eligibility, and parental or authorized-representative authorization where required. You agree to report your physical location truthfully for each visit; providing a false location may make the visit unlawful and can result in cancellation of the visit and suspension of your account. If you will be located outside the provider’s licensed jurisdictions at the visit time, the visit cannot proceed virtually.
10. Prescriptions
Whether to prescribe any medication is solely the treating clinician’s decision; booking a virtual visit is not a promise of a prescription. Telehealth prescribing is subject to federal and state law, including limitations on prescribing controlled substances via telehealth (which may require an in-person evaluation or other conditions under federal law, including the Ryan Haight Act and its implementing rules, and applicable state equivalents). Some providers do not prescribe certain medication classes through virtual visits at all; material prescribing limitations disclosed by the provider are shown before you book.
11. Recording
Spot Now does not record virtual visits. A provider that intends to record any part of a visit must disclose the recording and obtain any consent required by applicable law before recording. You agree not to record a visit except as permitted by applicable law and with the provider’s agreement. Recording laws differ by state, including two-party-consent states.
12. Technical failure
If the audio-video connection fails or degrades so the visit cannot continue safely, the provider’s telephone contingency process is used to complete the visit, or the visit is rescheduled without penalty to you. A visit that cannot be completed because of documented technical failure is not treated as a patient no-show, and any prepaid amounts for an uncompleted visit are handled under the Financial & Payment Terms and Cancellation & Refund Policy.
13. Costs, billing, and insurance
Visit fees are set by the provider and disclosed before you confirm a booking. Insurance coverage for telehealth varies by plan, state, and service; a coverage estimate is not a guarantee of payment, and you remain responsible for amounts your plan does not cover, subject to applicable law. Cost-sharing for telehealth may differ from in-person cost-sharing under some plans.
14. Minors and authorized representatives
Virtual visits for a minor require the authorization and, where required by the provider or applicable law, the participation of a parent, legal guardian, or authorized representative, except where the minor may lawfully consent to the specific service. If you book or attend a visit for another person, you represent that you have legal authority to consent to telehealth on that person’s behalf, and this consent applies to the patient.
15. Your responsibilities
You agree to: provide accurate, complete identity, location, and health information; confirm your identity as requested (a photo ID may be required by the provider); attend from a safe, stationary, private setting — not while driving; keep your contact information current so the provider can reach you if the connection fails; and follow the clinician’s recommendation to seek in-person or emergency care when advised.
16. Withdrawing consent
You may withdraw your consent to telehealth at any time — before or during a visit — by informing the clinician or cancelling the visit, without affecting your right to in-person care or future services. Withdrawal is prospective: it does not undo care already provided or the records of it. Consent actions are recorded in your consent history with document version, date, and time.
17. State-specific provisions
Some states require specific disclosures, consent elements, or rights for telehealth patients — for example, the right to request an in-person visit, information about how to file a complaint with the state medical board, or specific rules for audio-only services. Where the law of the state in which you are located at the time of service requires additional or different terms, those requirements apply to your visit, and participating providers are responsible for obtaining any provider-level consent their state or specialty requires.
18. Acknowledgment
By accepting these Telehealth Terms at booking, you acknowledge and agree that:
- you have read and understood this document, and had the opportunity to ask the provider questions before the visit;
- telehealth involves the limitations and risks described in Section 5, and no outcome is guaranteed;
- Spot Now is a scheduling platform and is not your healthcare provider; the treating provider is solely responsible for your care;
- you will truthfully report your physical location for each visit, and the visit may not proceed if licensure requirements are not met;
- telehealth is not for emergencies, and you will call 911 in an emergency;
- prescriptions are at the clinician’s sole discretion and subject to legal restrictions;
- your consent is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time without affecting your right to in-person care.