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With stay-at-home orders in place all over the country, people are unsure what to do if they start to feel ill. After all, going to the emergency room may unnecessarily take up needed resources during the coronavirus pandemic. But not getting medical care can be scarier than ever. Enter virtual doctor visits, also called telehealth, where you can get a consultation from a doctor without having to leave home.
“I was really thankful that I didn’t need to take my toddler to the emergency room,” Atlanta mom Chelsea Hamer told Mom.com. “Our pediatrician was able to determine it was likely an ear infection and said we could pick up the medicine at the pharmacy.”
What are virtual doctor visits?
Virtual doctor visits are consultations with real doctors via a mobile app, online video conference room, or phone call. These have actually been around for a while but have seen an almost overnight rise in popularity due to coronavirus. People don’t want to go to the doctors office while practicing social distancing and also want to free up emergency room staff for those who need it most during these unprecedented times.
Virtual doctor visits can handle a wide range of issues including:
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Sinus infections
- Cold/flu
- Ear infections
- Pink eye
- Stress management
- Counseling
- Child behavioral issues
It’s also possible for patients seeking second opinions or consultations with specialists who can do so without traveling to another city. Even though the doctor isn’t in the room to examine you, she has access to your medical records, test results, and is able to ask diagnostic questions to help identify what your medical issue is. According to Kaiser Health News, a telehealth appointment is often cheaper, with an average cost being $79, compared to an office visit’s average cost of $146.
You can even have a virtual dentist appointment where the dentist can provide a consultation based on photos and a discussion of symptoms. This helps patients get the right information before scheduling an appointment with a dentist or specialist.
How do virtual doctor visits work?
Keep in mind that a virtual doctor visit won’t do everything that an in-person doctor visit will do simply because the doctor can’t physically examine you. However, there is a lot that can be done with telemedicine.
Virtual doctor visits typically happen through specialized software apps so that they are HIPPA compliant to protect your privacy from hacks and data breaches. You’ll enter a virutal waiting room (free of germs, except your own) and wait for the doctor to arrive for your scheduled appointment.
Your doctor will ask you a series of questions to find out the issue and diagnose your problem. She will review any medical charts and history available. Keep in mind that if your doctor needs more tests, she could order that — which would require you to go to a medical facility to draw blood or provide a urine sample. But many common health conditions can be assessed and prescribed medication through a virtual doctor visit.
For example, if you have a history of sinus infections and your symptoms are consistent with them, it is possible for your doctor to send a prescription to the pharmacy for you to pick up when it is ready.
Doctors are very creative with assessing ailments that often require palpating certain body areas such as the abdomen for possible appendicitis. Dr. Sari Lahham, of Jefferson Health, explained in a recent Washington Post article, “If they are smiling while jiggling an area that should be very irritated, we don’t worry so much about it, but if they stop and cry and hold their abdomen, I’m a lot more concerned.”
How do you get medicine/prescriptions?
As with any prescription, your doctor must first make an assessment of your symptoms and determine a course of action. If your health issue can be diagnosed via the virtual doctor appointment, your doctor is able to electronically prescribe the medicine you need. This is sent directly to the pharmacy.
Depending on your pharmacy, prescriptions might need to be picked up, but more and more providers such as Kaiser have services where they will mail them to you. Of course, if it is a time-sensitive prescription, meaning you need it sooner than later, you may need to go to the pharmacy. You can at least do so once the order is ready to be picked up, rather than wait around. This reduces time away from the house while you need to recover.
Remember that a virtual doctor visit can help reduce the time outside the home when sick. This reduces your chances of getting others sick or getting worse yourself. It also allows you to spend more time recuperating rather than commuting and waiting.
However, this isn’t a perfect scenario. There will still be times that your doctor may need to see you, get more tests, or send you to an emergency room for faster treatment. But it is a great place to start.
