What to expect from a Telehealth appointment?
With half of the country in lockdown (again 🙁 ) telehealth appointments are becoming part of the new normal. As a health practitioner who has embraced telehealth for the better part of this year, I thought I would answer some of the common questions we get around Telehealth appointments.
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about telehealth and what to expect.
How is it different from booking a normal appointment?
There is no difference in booking, whether you are speaking with one of our friendly reception staff or booking online, it’s the same process. You will just need to make sure you let them know it’s a Telehealth appointment.
What happens after I book in?
You will get an email confirmation after you book in, one 2 days before your appointment and one more, one hour prior to your appointment. This last email is an important one as it has a link in it to start your session.
Depending on how you’d like to do the session (tablet/phone/laptop etc) you might need to download some software – this is especially true for those wanting to do it on a device such as a phone. It is always a good idea to do all of this before your session. So there’s no stress when you’re trying to log in.
Pro tip – it’s always good to try the links/download the software at least 15 minutes before the session starts – that way there’s no technical difficulties at appointment time.
What will the session be like?
The same as any other! Obviously there are limitations on what disciplines can do a Telehealth session (not so sure a massage would be as effective..), but everything else will be the same, the length, the practitioner etc.
The only difference would be that you will get an email of any notes that might have physically handed to you before – otherwise, it’s all the same.
Is it still private?
Of course! All of our health practitioners are doing this from a secured room or in an office. All patient confidentiality that normally surrounds your sessions exist for tele-health. It’s just that you can do it from the comfort of your own home!
How do I pay?
Two options, either over the phone when one of our reception staff call you, or if you are in one of our clinics for a face-to-face session, you can always settle the account then.
Can I still claim using private health?
If you were able to claim before, then you will be able to claim now (depening on your level of private health of course).
How you claim will just depend on how you’ve paid for your session. If you’ve paid in person, then it’s the same as always using hicaps in the clinic. If you’ve paid over the phone, then you will need to submit your receipt (emailed over) directly to your health care fund to process.
You can find out more information on using our Telehealth system, JANE, here..