Abstract
Background: In 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a pandemic. In South Africa, on 24 March 2020, the president of the Republic of South Africa announced that the country would be placed in a total lockdown from 27 March 2020 in which no persons were allowed to operate businesses unless they were healthcare workers or in some other essential business concerns. As set out in an extraordinary policy decision of the executive committee of the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA) of 25 March 2020, AHPCSA-regulated practitioners and therapists were able to receive patients using a telehealth/ telemedicine modus, this decision suspending a previous AHPCSA 2011 decision which disallowed the practice. In clarification of the AHPCSA executive committee extraordinary policy decision, the AHPCSA Registrar issued a notification on 26 March 2020 indicating that patients could be received, but in essential cases only, namely in emergencies only, at the registered place of practice on a face-to face basis. In all other cases, the reception of patients was required in terms of the telehealth/telemedicine modus according to the AHPCSA published Telehealth and Telemedicine Guidelines. The restriction on receiving patients in cases of emergency only was lifted on 1 May 2020 pursuant to a subsequent extraordinary AHPCSA executive committee policy decision on 29 April 2020, but the AHPCSA Telehealth and Telemedicine Guidelines remain in force for AHPCSA-regulated practitioners and therapists to receive patients. The research question must then consider whether these AHPCSA Guidelines included similar recommendations to those of other countries, and if these Guidelines could be supported by published literature. It remains important that, despite the method of practice used, Chiropractic care is required to ensure that the fundamental rights of patients were still respected, namely those of dignity, privacy, confidentiality and informed consent.
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)