Transcription:
Tips for Your First Telehealth Appointment

Caitlin Whyte: Telehealth visits are becoming more popular and they can be a great option if it's difficult for you to get to your local clinic. If you've never participated in a telehealth visit before, it's good to know in advance what to expect. Dr. Joseph Berg is a family medicine physician at Upland Hills Health, and is here to talk about telehealth visits and how preparing in advance will help you make the most your visit.

This is the Inspire Health podcast from Upland Hills Health. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. So doctor, we've been hearing about telehealth all over lately. To start off, just tell us what telehealth really means.

Dr. Joseph Berg: So telehealth is fairly simple. It's just being able to see your doctor and have a visit over either telephone or video call.

Caitlin Whyte: Now that I know this is an option, can I schedule all of my appointments over video calls?

Dr. Joseph Berg: Not all of your appointments. Some appointments need you to be in person. For example, ones that need to draw your blood or to do more specific physical exams. But a lot of visits can be done simply over the phone.

Examples would include chronic disease follow up where you don't need your blood drawn, mental health visits, mild illnesses, maybe some sniffles, maybe you think you have some allergies, simple rashes, minor injuries. All of those can be seen over telehealth.

Caitlin Whyte: Let's dive into some of the technology. How do I sign in and begin my appointment?

Dr. Joseph Berg: Yeah, that's a great question. There are several different video conferencing platforms that we can use, but what we prefer to use is called Zoom and I'm sure most people have heard of that, especially in these last nine months. It is a secure video conferencing platform and the emphasis is on secure, meaning it has good encryption. Other people can't listen in or hijack it. So that's why we prefer to use that.

It is a free application that you can download on any smart device, be that a cell phone or a tablet, even on most computers, you can download the application. But if you're not very savvy with computers or devices, you can simply just click a link that we do send you and we can get into that in a second. And it'll actually work in your web browser, like Internet Explorer or Chrome or whatever you use, as long as you have a working microphone and camera on your computer. That's easier if you have like a laptop computer with a webcam, a little bit more challenging if you have a desktop computer, but still possible.

Caitlin Whyte: With more visits shifting to this type on the phone or on a video, are there any tips you wish patients knew ahead of time?

Dr. Joseph Berg: Of course. I mean, most time people get into these visits and like, "Oh, well, Cool." And they're maybe not prepared. So first of all, like you got to get ready for the visit. So you want to have a good connection to your internet because if you don't, the video takes a lot of bandwidth or a lot of the wires that you need to have the video work well, so the video will cut in and out or we'll hear your audio, but won't see your mouth move or it'll stutter. So find a spot in your house that close to where your Wi-Fi is broadcast, right? Where the router is. Go find it. Sit next to it.

Try to find a place that is quiet, where you won't have a lot of distractions, because again, it's a doctor's visit. You want to keep your confidentiality, right? And then prepare for a visit. So it's just like any other doctor visits. So have your medications handy so you can review them with either me or the medical assistant, whoever's talking to you or checking you in. Have a list of questions written down so that you can be ready to ask them, of course.

And lastly, you know, because we're not in person, we can't take your vital signs, like your height and your weight and your pulse and your blood pressure in person. But a lot of times you can do those at home by yourself if you have a blood pressure cuff, if you have a scale, um, if you know your height, so have that ready and written down for us too.

Caitlin Whyte: And wrapping up here, do you see telehealth visits becoming the norm in the future, even, you know, in the after times of the pandemic?

Dr. Joseph Berg: I hope so. Personally. I mean, this is a big interest of mine. I like technology and computers. And I think that it will just because the convenience is there and it will just expand our reach in a way for things that don't necessarily need to come into the office. So it'll just save people time and with so many people like learning that with the expansion of broadband internet, you know, the home is a place you can work. I have meetings and actually get stuff done. You know, I think that will translate into to our area and to the medical space. I was like, "Well, I already have this camera. I already have this on my computer. I already have a microphone. I already have everything set up. Like, why can't I just have a doctor's visit like this?" I think that will translate.

And the big thing we're going to have to see is what are insurance companies going to do, right? I think Medicare is already on board, but I think the private insurance, the last time I asked, you know, our billing person, she's not sure, right? What she's been reading is maybe some insurance companies, private insurance, like Blue Cross. I mean in our area Dean Care or Quartz, some are saying like, yeah, "We'll probably keep some telehealth going in the future," but some have maybe been less enthusiastic about it. So again, I mean, I think it should stay around. I think it's a valuable tool, not just for doctors to save time and to reach people that maybe they couldn't reach, but also for patients that either have mobility problems or live far away or are just like, "Hey, we don't want to like drive all the way to a clinic just for a simple rash when we could just be like, 'Hey, I'm at home. Can you just check this out for me quick?'"

Caitlin Whyte: Great. Well, doctor, is there any other tips you'd like to share maybe with those telehealth first-timers?

Dr. Joseph Berg: I mean, I wouldn't be scared of it. It's easy. One thing you could do, if you're really nervous about it is download Zoom on your phone. It's easy. If you just go to whichever app store you like to use, then make an account first of course when you sign up for it. Again, it's free. Then, all you got to do is quickly select start a meeting and you can send an invite and you can use a text message or an email. And so pick a friend, pick somebody who you think knows a little bit more about technology and already uses Zoom and send an invite and have a meeting with them.

And you can troubleshoot like, "Okay, how do I sound? Does the video look good? Is my audio coming through?" Work out the kinks first so that when we get into time for your appointment, we're not scrambling and we don't waste everybody's time.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you so much, Dr. Berg. For taking the time to tell us just how telehealth works.

Upland Hills Health provides family medicine clinics in seven communities in Southwest Wisconsin. To find the one that's nearest to you go to UplandHillsHealth.org and choose locations. This is the Inspire Health podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.