Telemedicine Doctors Consultations: All you Need to Prepare for your Appointments
The rise of the Covid-19 pandemic has made telemedicine consultation services one of the safest and most convenient options for seeking professional medical care. With many providers, the process is as simple as calling their office, booking an appointment, and showing up virtually at your scheduled consultation time. There are a few things to consider however in order to best prepare for your telemedicine doctor consultation, and we’ve outlined some of the best ways to get ready below!
Telemedicine 101
While ‘telehealth’ and ‘telemedicine’ are terms often used interchangeably, a telemedicine appointment refers specifically to consultations provided by a health professional remotely. Having your health consultations through telemedicine is an amazing way to save time, increase your geographical access to services, and consult health professionals all from the safety and comfort of your own home.
When it comes to safety and security, it’s important to check in with your provider to make sure that consultations are being done through a safe and secure digital platform. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has authorized HIPPA covered healthcare providers to conduct consultations through using secured platforms such as Facetime, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, and other medical services-based consultation platforms.
Paperwork Preparation
In order to prepare for your telemedicine doctor consultation, there are a few things you need to consider. Firstly, you should collect a list of your medications, supplements, health history, and prepare any questions you might have. You should also check-in with your provider to see if there is any sort of onboarding paperwork to submit before the appointment regarding things like personal information or insurance details. Finally, you should also check in with your insurance company to see if there is any sort of further documentation that they require.
Appointment Setup
When it’s time for your actual appointment, it’s important to make sure you have everything you need for the setup of your virtual consultation. Make sure whatever device you’re using to connect to your appointment has a camera, is charged and plugged in, and has a strong signal. It will also help smooth the process to have headphones with a built-in microphone, as well as a pen and paper ready in case you need to make notes. A flashlight might also be useful in case you need to highlight any difficult to see areas such as your ears, nose, or throat.
At Surfside Urgent Care of Laguna Beach, we are more than happy to walk you through our telemedicine doctor consultation process and provide you with exceptional remote health services from our qualified physicians. Just give us a call, and we will set up an appointment and guide you through preparing everything you will need for your virtual consultation!