What happens at a Docto24 telemedicine consultation — a step-by-step walkthrough

You complete a structured online assessment — the equivalent of the intake form you would complete in any clinic, but expanded for cannabis-specific questions: your chief complaint, condition history, current medications, allergies, prior cannabis exposure, psychiatric history, pregnancy status, and your goals for the consultation. Honest answers matter; the doctor uses this as the starting point.

You select between **async-text consultation** (the doctor reviews your case in writing within 24–48 hours) and **video consultation** (live video call, scheduled). Async fits straightforward indications and repeat patients. Video is recommended for first cannabinoid consultations, complex cases, or where you want a synchronous conversation.

For video, you receive a calendar booking with a video-link. You join from your laptop, tablet, or phone. The platform is browser-based — no app to install. A stable internet connection is the only technical requirement.

A typical consultation runs 15–20 minutes. The doctor opens by confirming what they have read in your assessment and inviting you to add or correct anything. Then a structured clinical conversation:

**About the condition** — duration, severity, what triggers it, how it affects your daily function. Specific to your indication.

**Treatment history** — what you have tried before (medications, physiotherapy, psychotherapy, lifestyle changes), with what response, and why discontinued. This is where having documentation ready helps — specialist letters, previous prescription lists.

**Cannabis exposure history** — prior recreational or medical cannabis use, response patterns, side effects. This is not a moral judgement — it is clinical information.

**Co-existing conditions and medications** — to identify interactions or cautions. Be exhaustive here, including over-the-counter supplements.

**Risk-screening** — psychiatric history, substance-use history, pregnancy status. Some answers change the safe-prescribing calculus.

**Your goals** — what symptom would matter most to you to change, and how would you measure success at the 6-week review.

The doctor reaches one of three conclusions during or shortly after the consultation:

**Accept** — the case meets the clinical and regulatory criteria for a Section 21 application. The doctor proposes a formulation, starting dose, titration plan, and review schedule. You discuss together; nothing is decided unilaterally.

**Conditional** — additional information is needed (specialist letter, recent investigations, second-opinion). The doctor explains what is needed and what timeframe is reasonable. You can re-present once you have the documentation.

**Decline** — cannabinoid therapy is not appropriate at this point. The doctor explains the reasoning honestly and discusses alternatives — often a referral back to a specialist, optimisation of current therapy, or a different symptomatic management approach.

For accepted cases, the doctor files the Section 21 application with SAHPRA the same day or next. You receive a status notification. SAHPRA review typically takes 2–3 working days; once approved, the prescription routes to the partner pharmacy you select for dispense and courier delivery.

You receive written summary of the consultation, the proposed regimen (formulation, dose, titration, review date), driving and pregnancy guidance specific to the regimen, and a clear escalation path for adverse events or questions during the trial period. Your account dashboard reflects the live status of the application and dispense.

Some clinical situations genuinely require physical examination — that is a small but real category. Where the doctor identifies the need for hands-on examination of a non-cannabis component (musculoskeletal exam in chronic pain, neurological exam in suspected MS, etc.), they refer you to your nearest in-person GP or specialist for that specific examination, separately from the cannabis pathway. The two pathways then run in parallel — telemedicine cannabinoid prescribing alongside in-person care for the parts that need it.