A telehealth visit is just like a regular visit, with you in one place and your health care provider in another, and you can have one online on a computer, tablet or smartphone. A first appointment booked as a video call is still an appointment with a provider, though you may need to see a provider in person at times. Telehealth may not be right for everyone or every health care condition, and your health care provider is the person to ask whether it suits yours.
The care you can get in an appointment on a screen
On a screen you can get more than a talk about how you feel: telehealth lets you take care of your health in different ways, among them:
- checking results from lab tests or x-rays
- checking on common problems such as headaches or infections
- looking at skin problems
- managing your medicines
- checking in with your provider after surgery
- accessing nutritional care and services
Prescriptions for medicine and wellness visits are also among the types of care you may get using telehealth. Your health care provider can tell you whether telehealth is a good fit for the care you need.
A virtual visit with a health care provider can be a phone call or a video chat, so a call with no picture counts as telehealth too. Telehealth care also lets you send your provider messages safely and share information you track yourself, such as your blood pressure. With remote patient monitoring, your provider can check on you while you are at home: you might, for example, wear a device that measures your heart rate and sends that information to your provider.
You may get an appointment faster, you skip the travel, the time off and the search for someone to watch your kids, and the provider you see can be one who is far from you.
What still needs you in person, and what you can supply from home
In some cases, the provider may not be able to make the right diagnosis without examining you in person, or may need you to come in for a lab test. At the end of a visit, your provider may suggest next steps: another appointment, another provider, a test or medication. If the next step is unclear, call or message the office of the provider you saw for help.
Your temperature, weight, blood pressure or blood sugar level are among the things you might want to write down before a telehealth visit, so if you track any of them at home, have the readings in front of you during the visit.
If the visit is with someone who is not your regular provider, he or she may not have all of your medical history. If nobody has told you whether anyone in your family has had medullary thyroid cancer, ask the relative who would know before the visit, because for weight care that answer can rule a treatment out (see Medullary thyroid cancer in the family rules out one weekly injection).
Is a conversation on a screen as private as one in an office?
A conversation on a screen falls under the same federal privacy law as one in an office. HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, is the federal law that set a standard for protecting your personal information, and its rules keep your paper and digital medical histories private, including what you share during telehealth visits. Do not record the visit yourself. Telehealth visits are not supposed to be recorded, and the only information saved from them is the notes your health care provider writes in your private health record.
Choose a quiet spot where you can talk freely and where no one can listen in. Good places include a room in your home, your car parked somewhere away from noise, a room at a friend's place if your home is noisy, or an outdoor spot away from crowds.
To keep your health information safe on the device and the network you use:
- check the website address before you type in any personal information, and look for a lock or shield icon, which means the site is secure
- use your own device if you can, and avoid shared computers, tablets or phones
- put a password on your home WiFi
- do not use free or public WiFi when you are sharing health information
If someone says they are a health care provider and you are not sure, keep your health information to yourself and call your regular provider's office using the phone number you usually use to confirm. For a provider you have not met yet, call the office that booked your visit instead, on a number you looked up yourself rather than one the caller gave you.
What to prepare, what it will cost, and what to do after the visit
To prepare, have a short list in front of you before the video connects, and keep paper and a pen close for notes. Among the things you might want to put on that list:
- the medicines you are taking and how much
- any problems, worries or questions you want to discuss
- your temperature, weight, blood pressure or blood sugar level, if you measured any of them
- allergies to food or medicine
Sit where the light falls on your face, with the device steady and the camera at the height of your eyes, because how you look on the screen is how your health care provider will see you. Use the best camera you have, with your head and shoulders in the frame: a clear picture can help your doctor understand and address your concerns more easily. Sign on early, and if the video will not start, message the provider you are booked with or call their office. It is best not to eat or drink during the visit, and never have the visit while you are driving or running errands. If you need a screen reader, closed captioning or other help, let your provider know beforehand.
Before the visit, ask the office that booked it how much it will cost. Some insurance companies may not cover telehealth visits, and coverage varies widely from state to state, so check with your insurance company or your provider's billing department. If you cannot afford the visit or do not have health insurance, ask your provider's office whether they have local resources that can help. If you have Medicare, Part B covers certain telehealth services, and through December 31, 2027 you can get them from anywhere in the U.S., including your home; for most telehealth services, you pay the same amount you would in person.
Before you hang up, or by message afterwards, ask the provider to send you a summary or notes, which can include answers to the questions you asked. If you forget to ask something, or need more information later, call or message the provider's office with more questions. After a virtual visit, it may be up to you to coordinate your care with your regular provider.
For weight care arranged through NicoCares, treatment is a decision for a physician who holds a license in your state. In-person office visits are not part of the NicoCares subscription, and NicoCares does not bill insurers. If your physician says you need an exam or a lab test, ask your care team how to arrange it; NicoCares patients write to them through Spruce, a secure messaging app.
