If your doctor sees patients without appointments, find out how to get into the “virtual waiting room” so you can be seen when the doctor is next available.
Complete and submit any required forms to give your consent for the use of virtual visits, including video appointments and text messaging.
Ask the doctor’s office how to send any items that will make the visit more efficient, such as symptom questionnaires or photos related to the medical problem.
To be ready for a video visit, you must first prepare your communications device and Internet connection.
If possible, arrange a test call with the doctor’s office or with a family member or friend.
If you have to use a wireless connection, be prepared to switch from your WiFi to your cellphone data plan. Although it can be costly to use your cellphone data plan, your phone will often give you a faster Internet connection.
If you can’t connect by video, ask your doctor if you can connect by phone instead.
Video visits are similar to in-person appointments when it comes to the information you need on hand:
your health insurance card (if your province/territory’s health cards don’t include a photo, also be sure to have photo ID so the doctor can confirm your identity);
Note: for video visits for children, your child must be on camera for at least part of the visit.
Be aware that you may have to wait “on the line” before the doctor joins the video visit. Once the video visit starts, there are both familiar and new things to expect:
The doctor must identify themselves and tell you where they are located and where they hold a medical license. Ask for that information if they don’t volunteer it.
Remain in front of the camera and speak clearly so the doctor can see and hear you.
The Virtual care standard and guide (the standard) recommends the minimum set of functional requirements to successfully implement and maintain virtual care services in Victorian public health services (VPHS).
Act as a reference and enable health services that have already implemented virtual care service to identify gaps.
Identify the common specifications and guidelines used to inform implementation of virtual care services across VPHS.
This document should be used in conjunction with the Virtual Care Operational Guide, along with other national, state or locally developed clinical standards.
The COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst for many health services to rapidly deploy telehealth and other virtual care services to enable healthcare services maintain business continuity and patient care during the extended COVID-19 lockdown. During this time health services developed local guidelines and/or frameworks to support their work and enable broad-based roll-out of telehealth and virtual care services.
Telemedicine — connecting with a healthcare provider for a virtual visit using a smartphone, tablet, or computer — is soaring in America, and it’s not just because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although the crisis is focusing increased attention on this option for seeking medical care remotely.
Mental Health“Telemedicine can make it easier, faster, and safer to get the healthcare you and your family need,” says Rachel Bishop, MD, medical director of telemedicine at Houston Methodist Primary Care Group in Texas.
“Wait times are shorter than most in-person medical visits. You don’t have to take time off from work or find childcare. And virtual visits can reduce your exposure to viruses and other infections.”
Precisely because of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government, some local governments, health insurance companies, health systems, and private telemedicine companies are all taking steps to make virtual medical visits and online health assessments available to more people.
Some systems are offering free virtual COVID-19 assessments to anyone who contacts them, and while the disease cannot be diagnosed without a lab test, a remote healthcare provider can direct you to the next appropriate step, whether it’s staying home or seeking in-person care.
The term “telemedicine” is often used interchangeably with the term “telehealth.” However, some organizations differentiate between the two.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), for example, defines telemedicine as the practice of using technology to deliver medical care at a distance, over a telecommunications infrastructure, between a patient at an originating site and a physician or other licensed practitioner at another site.
The AAFP defines telehealth, meanwhile, as a wide range of electronic and telecommunications technologies that support a variety of remote healthcare services, such as medical, health coaching, and education services.
The AAFP defines telehealth, meanwhile, as a wide range of electronic and telecommunications technologies that support a variety of remote healthcare services, such as medical, health coaching, and education services.
Another term you may come across is “telecare,” which usually refers to using technology to monitor and care for elderly or disabled people remotely.
Telemedicine is the practice of connecting with a healthcare provider for a virtual visit through your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Doctors can provide information, diagnose conditions, recommend treatments, provide mental health counseling, and prescribe medication via a telemedicine appointment.
With more and more medical practices offering virtual care options, you may want to check first with your primary care doctor, if you have one, or a group medical practice with which you already have a relationship, to see if they’re using phone calls, video chats, or other online methods to conduct remote patient visits.
Pediatricians are also increasingly offering telemedicine, and many specialists, such as cardiologists, neurologists, obstetricians, and oncologists, are also offering care to their existing patients via telemedicine.
You may also want to check with your health insurance plan to see whether it has its own telemedicine interface, has partnered with a telemedicine company, or has preferred services. Using a telemedicine plan that accepts your insurance is one way to keep your costs down.
Another option, if you’re employed, is to ask your human resources department if the company has a preferred telemedicine provider — and whether there’s a cost savings to you in using it.
Medicaid covers some telehealth services, although the specifics vary from state to state. You should contact your healthcare provider if you have Medicaid to ask what services are available to you.
Medicare beneficiaries also now have broader access to virtual visits, following changes to federal rules in March 2020, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (PDF).
Some physical urgent care centers are offering telehealth, and at the very least, most will speak to you on the phone about whether or not to come to the center. If you have any upper respiratory symptoms or other symptoms suggesting possible COVID-19, they likely will have special instructions for your visit.