In response to the current measles outbreak in California, the CAP Hotline has received a number of calls from concerned members asking how they should manage unvaccinated patients and protect other patients in their practices.

As with conventional medicine, a telehealth and video caregiver must uphold to the same duties to safeguard a patients' medical records and keep their treatments confidential.

Processing medication telephone messages is one of the most frequent daily activities involving front and back office staff and providers. Patients report symptoms or ask questions related to their medications, which then necessitate provider response. Message accuracy is crucial to provider decisions and proper treatment.

As unlikely as it may seem, there are still some physicians who leave their "nurse" (medical assistant) in charge of the office when they are gone. Initially, there are two problems with this practice.

Even in our increasingly electronic world, it is critical that policies and procedures be in place for secure disposal of patient information, whether that information is in electronic form or on paper.