Why do patients like using telehealth for their healthcare?
Telehealth is convenient and cost-effective. You can have your appointment in the comfort of your own home, or even behind closed doors at your office or in your car.
- If you are at home, your medicines and supplements are easily accessed. You do not need to drag them around to an office visit. Also, if we are discussing specific food products or cleaning products that may be impacting your health, they are easily accessible to know what they are.
- You save money, time, and stress by not needing to drive and deal with traffic and parking or find other transportation to an office.
- You have less chance of picking up an infectious disease. Doctors’ offices are filled with people with all kinds of transmissible ailments, including colds, flu, and such. If you are immunocompromised, telemedicine is especially helpful in this regard.
- No need for childcare or eldercare to attend your appointment.
- Some appointments can be with video, and some can be with phone.
- Privacy- You do not have the risk of running into your co-workers, neighbors, constituents, or friends while in medical buildings or waiting rooms.
- You can access my services from almost anywhere. I am available to much of the US, Canada, and Europe, and Israel.
Is Your Telehealth Platform Secure and PIPEDA & HIPAA Compliant?
We Use JaneApp’s Electronic Health Records, online appointments, and Medical Office management system. Here is a direct quote from Jane’s website/administration to answer if the Telehealth is secure end meets privacy standards.
“Yes! The Jane’s Online Appointments feature was built exclusively within Jane and it is all provided within our secure infrastructure that meets our privacy standards We are not white labeling a 3rd-party solution behind the scenes.
We are using a standard that provides peer-to-peer audiovisual communication. This means that all the traffic flows directly between each user’s web browser and completely bypasses our servers. The traffic is also encrypted in transit and none of the data is stored anywhere at any time.
This approach ensures our online appointments are Pipea and HIPAA compliant and address the major privacy concerns clinics and patients have around telehealth.”
Video, audio or chat communication cannot be recorded during an Online Appointment session. This approach ensures that this feature remains HIPAA compliant and addresses major privacy concerns around telehealth posed by clinics.”
Although Telehealth is such a great tool and opportunity to easier and more convenient access to healthcare, there are some downsides and limitations.
I created some solutions for each of these challenges.
1.) Some people have trouble or just plain discomfort with technology, computers, cameras, microphones, etc.
Solution: You and I can change to phone consultation very easily. I have been using phone consultations for 30 years because I have always had patients who sometimes had difficulty coming into the office. Phone consultations work well.
2.) Some people may having trouble finding a quiet place to have a private and uninterrupted appointment.
Solution: You and I can troubleshoot together for options for getting that privacy. This is sometimes a situation where phone consult will be easier and a person has more available options.
3.) How do you do physical exams and labs?
Solution: I have created many avenues to get more information. I order labs and you go to a regular lab draw site, like you PCP often sends you to. Also, some labs can be done at home. I can do some limited physical exams over video. I also have a handout for the medical tools I would like each of my patients to have at home to learn to monitor some basic things in their health, like blood pressure, temperature, pulse ox and such. I also can use the data from digital trackers (wearables) to a certain degree although they are not quite as reliable as the medical equipment. Click here for the list.
Washington, California and across the US • tel: (425) 457-7799 •
Dr. Lara Litov | Online Doctor | Telehealth | Naturopathic Doctor | Integrative Medicine