What to expect from your virtual doctor’s visit

MANY doctors have had to temporarily vacate their physical office spaces out of an abundance of caution as they continue to work with the Government in a bid to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. And thankfully, while they aren’t as physically accessible, many of our doctors are now on various telemedicine platforms waiting to answer the calls of their ailing patients.

With telemedicine being new for most people, many are unsure of what obtains during a virtual doctor’s visit or what they may or may not need to have ready at these consultations. So what can patients expect?

Chief medical officer and general practitioner Dr Che Bowen, who started the MDLink platform, said that patients can expect an experience similar to a physical visit to their doctor’s office, minus the physical examination.

“Even before you get into the virtual doctor’s office you are in control of your medical appointment. Firstly, you set the time that you want to see the doctor — that means that you won’t have to be in any long lines or have to wait in any queue. You can go to the doctor from anywhere that is most comfortable for you, and you can choose the doctor that you would prefer to consult with,” Dr Bowen told All Woman.

He explained that at the end of the selection process patients will be prompted to make a payment for the doctor’s appointment, which they can do using a debit or credit card.

“The next step is your appointment. Now how this goes will be dependent on the type of visit that you choose — whether video, audio or text. Your doctor will know how to proceed, but in general they will be in the virtual waiting room.

“If, for example, you choose an audio call, your doctor will call you — it’s the simplest way because you don’t have to do anything, you can just wait and the doctor will call you. With the video, you have to join at the time that you select and the doctor will be there waiting for you. For the text appointment, you will both join at the time of the appointment,” Dr Bowen explained.

In general, the telemedicine specialist said that sessions should last on average 15 minutes; however, the duration of the visit is ultimately determined by the doctor.

Whichever platform you choose, Dr Bowen said that you can take comfort in the fact that your doctor is seeing you from a place of privacy and as such you can be free to share anything with him/her.

As for the actual consultation, Dr Bowen says you should expect that:

• Your doctor will be dressed professionally.

• Your doctor will ask you about your medical history if he/she is seeing you for the first time.

• You can ask your primary care physician to send your medical records to your physician on the telemedicine app to make sure the doctor is armed with all the right information when analysing your case.

• Your primary care physician can also ask your doctor on MDLink for medical records.

• If you have basic medical equipment such as a thermometer, scale, blood pressure and blood sugar devices, you can expect that your doctor may ask you to check these with their guidance and to send a picture, or you can type and send the readings.

• You will get to choose the lab or pharmacy, for example, where you want your prescription or lab requests sent to.

• Nearing the end of the consultation, the doctor will check whether you have other questions or other concerns outside of your primary reason for calling.

MDLink now offers a full-service package which means that patients can fill their prescriptions through the app and have their medications delivered at a subsidised cost.