Doctor’s waiting room
How to take part in a Telehealth appointment.
You can choose one of two ways to conduct a telehealth consultation depending on what technology you have available and feel most comfortable using.
First and most simply, we can conduct an appointment with you over the telephone.
Or, if you have access to a computer, tablet or iPhone/Android phone camera, you may choose to conduct a video call. The instructions for maximising success with this platform are listed here.
For either of these two options, we have some further suggestions for how best to prepare for your appointment. Follow these to get the most out of your appointment with us.
1. Conduct your appointment in a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted and without lots of background noise. If you choose to video call, conduct this with good lighting.
2. Prepare before hand by taking as many of the following measurements as you can and write them down so you can report on them during the appointment.
Take your temperature if you have a thermometer
Record your pulse rate - this might be easy if you have a wearable device. If not, take your pulse by lightly placing the 2nd and 3rd fingers of one hand upon the opposite wrist crease just below the thumb. If you can’t immediately feel anything, move your fingers lightly a few mm until you can feel it. Count how many pulses you feel over 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to give your pulse rate.
Record your respiratory rate. Count how many breaths you take in 15 seconds and multiply by 4.
If you have scales, record your weight, particularly if the appointment is for a child patient.
3. Have your regular medications to hand in case these need to be discussed.
4. Have a pen and paper to write notes about what your plan of action will be and remember your doctors recommendations.
Telehealth video call instructions.
Middle Island Medical Clinic conducts telehealth video consults over a platform called doxy.me. This platform live streams the consult and does not record data, ensuring confidentiality of your appointment.
Click on the website link above through to your doctor’s waiting room and enter your full name. Make sure that you allow the program access to your microphone and camera.
Your doctor will see that you are online in their virtual waiting room and commence the consultation.
For best results, ensure your device is running the most up to date software and that you are using the current version of your chosen browser. doxy.me should be able to operate on Safari, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. You may also want to ensure that your data plan will support 15-30 minutes of live streaming. If your internet speed is slow, a telephone consult may be a better option.
Billing for Telehealth appointments.
Telehealth appointments are now billed exactly the same way as a face-to-face consultation. See our billing policy for more details. Our reception staff will call you at the conclusion of your appointment and can accept credit card payment for your appointment.