What to Expect from a Telemedicine Visit

Open wide and say,“Ahhh”—to a doctor who is hundreds of miles away.

Experts call it telemedicine, or “the delivery of health care at a distance,” says Ronald S. Weinstein, M.D., founding director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program at the University of Arizona. Instead of visiting a doctor in person, you do it via text or video chat.

It may seem strange that a doctor can evaluate you from afar. But for many health care needs, a doctor doesn’t need to be physically in the room to treat you, says Dr. Weinstein. Sometimes you can even handle a medical issue completely, grabbing a diagnosis and prescription, without ever entering a waiting room or making awkward small talk in a paper gown.

However, the new technology isn’t the perfect fit for everyone and every issue. So keep reading to find out everything you need to know about these virtual visits.

The Cost

Some medical practices allow you to communicate remotely with your own doctor or another from the same group. In those cases, many insurance plans now cover those telemedicine visits with the same co-pay you’d make in person.

Or, you can use a stand-alone app like Doctor on Demand, Teladoc, or MDLIVE to book an e-appointment with another provider licensed in your state. These typically set you back about $40 to $50.

The Tech Setup

Depending on your technology setup and preferences, you can “see” a distant doctor in a variety of ways.

With Doctor on Demand and similar services, you can do a live video appointment using your phone, tablet, or computer.

These chats require a device with a camera and mic, and tend to work best over WiFi. Usually, you’ll download an app or log into a website to have a real-time convo with a physician, dietitian, nurse, or even a therapist.

But other situations may call for more low-tech visits. For instance, if you’re traveling or behind a video-free firewall at work, you can call or text a pro instead.

That’s where photographs come in.

Say you have a weird-looking rash. Snapping and sending a close-up selfie of the problem area, along with texting or talking about your symptoms, often gives the doctor enough detail to make an instant diagnosis, says Meg Scott, R.N., M.S.N., F.N.P., a family nurse practitioner and head of virtual care design at One Medical Group in San Francisco.

Many telemedicine companies offer instant access, 24/7. For services like therapy—or if there doesn’t happen to be a doctor from your state available—you can book an appointment, often later the same day.

The Prep

Regardless of your mode of communication, most visits start with you answering a few questions about your condition and your overall health.

Come prepared just like you would to a regular doctor’s appointment.

“It isn’t a chat room,” Dr. Weinstein says. So don’t just show up and chit-chat with the doc about your day or offer only vague descriptions of your complaints.

Instead, before your e-visit, sit down and make a list of everything you can remember about your symptoms. That includes when they started and what makes them better or worse.

Keep in mind, too, that using a stand-alone telemed site usually means the physician won’t have access to your full medical record. So you’ll want to share information on any past health problems you’ve had, along with a list of prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements you’re currently taking.

When the doctor “enters,” be ready to explain all your problems in detail. Give him or her your undivided attention.

So consider your surroundings before you log on. If you don’t want your coworkers hearing you talk about your diarrhea or erectile dysfunction, it’s probably best to do the chat from somewhere other than your cube, says Tania Elliott, M.D., an allergy and internal medicine specialist who treats patients both at NYU and through Doctor on Demand.

The Appointment

Though the doctor can’t lay hands on you, online visits still feature some elements of a physical exam.

If you have a cut, growth, or rash, your doctor might ask you to hold the affected area up to the screen. Complaining of a sore throat? He or she may have you touch your lymph nodes and report how they feel, or stick out your tongue to get a view down your throat.

Most visits last 10 to 15 minutes. About 60 percent of the time, your problem can be handled completely virtually, Scott estimates.

This means you might wind up with a diagnosis, instructions for aftercare from the doctor that you can access through the site or app, and a prescription sent straight to your pharmacy.

The Advantages—and Limits

Conditions most commonly treated through telemedicine include respiratory infections, nausea and other stomach problems, asthma, allergies, and most things you’d see a dermatologist for, from rashes to hair loss to jock itch.

Doctors can effectively handle these from afar for a few reasons: They’ve likely seen a million cases before, and diagnosing them relies largely on your answers to a few key questions or on symptoms he or she can easily see on screen.

In fact, booking an immediate virtual visit when you have something like hives or what you think are bedbug bites actually helps your doc diagnose you more accurately. After all, some specialists’ schedules book up weeks or months in advance, by which time those funny red spots may have faded.

“Half the time when patients come to see me in person, their rash is long gone,” Dr. Elliott says. “But it’s so much more useful to be able to see something in real time.”

Of course, e-visits have limitations. The doctor can’t listen to your heart or lungs, poke around to see how deep a cut goes, or see inside your ear to diagnose an ear infection.

Some of that may change soon, though. Dr. Elliott says Doctor on Demand is testing devices that plug into your phone to send photos of your inner ear or videos of your heartbeat.

Still, you can start almost any healthcare journey with a virtual consult, Scott says. If the virtual doctor can’t fully treat you, he or she can guide you on what to do next, whether that’s booking an appointment with a specialist, getting a lab test, or heading to an urgent care clinic.

Of course, if you have a true health crisis—think crushing chest pain, inability to breathe, or a head injury—call 911 or go straight to the emergency room. (Here’s a guide on how to determine When You Should Go to the ER or Just See Your Doctor.)

So Should You Choose a Telemed Visit?

Bottom line: Telemedicine offers a convenient way to quickly and easily deal with urgent, nonemergency health needs, but they don’t replace the need for a regular, primary care physician—that you see face-to-face.

“It’s for a slice of the pie—it’s not for everything,” Dr. Weinstein says. “It doesn’t work for complex care, and they’re not becoming your doctor for all your other conditions.”

What You Can Expect from a Telemedicine Visit

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