Telehealth Visits: Delivering Safe Healthcare During the Covid-19 Pandemic
With the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic, there are even more considerations to take into account when it comes to going into any medical buildings. Luckily, in order to increase patient access to health services, there has been a huge rise in the provision of telehealth consultations. If you have any concerns about going in-person to a clinic, a telehealth visit is an amazing option for things like routine healthcare, medical consultations, and follow-up appointments.
Telehealth vs Telemedicine
For many providers, the terms ‘telehealth’ and ‘telemedicine’ are often used interchangeably. This is because they involve similar services like consultation and education, patient monitoring, and transmission of images and medical reports. Technically, however, telehealth is a broad term encompassing all services provided through telecommunications technology, while telemedicine refers specifically to clinical services provided remotely.
What are the Benefits of Telehealth?
There are so many incredible benefits when it comes to telehealth services. First and foremost, telehealth provides a whole new level of accessibility when it comes to accessing qualified health professionals. Telehealth reduces travel and wait times spent at clinics, the necessity for many in securing childcare, and allows you to connect with health services from the comfort and safety of your own home. Telehealth also provides expanded access to consultations from specialists and helps reduce geographic considerations when it comes to health consultations. Additionally, telehealth services can provide even better-quality patient care through more extensive remote monitoring and follow up appointments.
Safety and Security
When it comes to safety and security, there are many different recommended platforms which have been approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HIPAA covered healthcare providers can deliver telehealth services to patients through secured platforms such as Facetime, Google Hangouts, Zoom, Skype, or any other specific medical consultation platforms.
What to Prepare
For your telehealth appointment, there are a few things to keep in mind in terms of preparation. First and foremost, you’ll want to touch base with your provider to make sure you’ve filled out all of the necessary paperwork like general intake forms and insurance information. You’ll also want to collect a detailed list of any current medications, supplements, or important health history. Finally, it’s also important to prepare your environment. Make sure your device is charged and plugged in with a strong signal, try to move to a quiet space, wear headphones, get a pen and paper ready, and consider using a flashlight if you want to help increase the visibility of areas such as the ear, nose, and throat.
If you’re looking for telehealth services, then Surfside Urgent Care of Laguna Beach is an amazing option for you. We can provide consultations to anywhere in the world! Just contact our office to schedule an appointment and we will support you in downloading our conferencing platform and connect you with a doctor at your scheduled appointment time.