How to Get the Most from Your Telehealth Visit with Your Doctor

If you haven’t heard the news, The Heart House is now offering telehealth visits to our patients. Now, you can conduct a face-to-face appointment with your cardiologist using your phone, without leaving your home.

Telehealth visits are one of the many ways doctors and patients are adapting to the coronavirus pandemic, and this is a new technology for many doctors and patients alike. To help get you prepared for your first telehealth visit, we’ve written down some tips that will help you get ready and maximize the quality of your visit.

5 Tips for the Best Possible Telehealth Visit with Your Doctor

1. Make sure you have a smartphone  with a front-facing camera and internet connectivity. Phones without internet connectivity or front-facing cameras will be unable to conduct a video telehealth visit you will need to allow camera and microphone access on your mobile device.
2. Before your visit, make sure your phone battery is adequately charged, or that the device is plugged in and charging.
3. If possible, find a private, well-lit place to conduct your visit with limited background noise or interruptions. You want to make it easy for your doctor to see and hear you. You can also use headphones to make it easier to hear and keep your conversation private.
4. Be patient as the in case the call might drop. If that happens, be ready for a call back to continue the session. Internet connection can cut in and out, and there’s also a learning curve to the telehealth software. Just know if there are connection issues occur, your doctor is working to get back in touch with you as soon as possible.
5. If you have a scale, please have your weight ready.  If you have a blood pressure cuff, please take your blood pressure 30 minutes before your call.  If you have any questions for your doctor beforehand, write down some notes or worrisome symptoms you’re having so you don’t forget to ask about them. Likewise, don’t forget to ask your doctor about any follow-up plans or recommendations at the end of your visit.

While we’re still learning how to make our telehealth visits as smooth as possible, we’ve already conducted hundreds of telehealth appointments here at The Heart House. We’re happy to offer a safe alternative that allows our patients to stay home, and we’ll be continuing to look for ways to make our telehealth visits better.

Want to change your next appointment to a telehealth?

If you are interested in making your upcoming cardiology appointment a telehealth visit instead of in office, please call us at (856-546-3003)

Accessing your Heart House telehealth appointment

If you have already scheduled a telehealth visit with your provider, please login via your patient portal account. If you are having trouble accessing the patient portal, please call us at (856-546-3003) for assistance.