Hi everyone, Dr. Vipul Shah here, clinical director at Pack Health, here in my home studio for our weekly COVID-19 update. Hope everyone is hanging in there during these long weeks of quarantine. Our main topic today is going to be a Q&A about telehealth and how to best utilize it during this pandemic as well as how it may be here to stay moving forward. Before we get to that, a few quick newsworthy items.

For one, thank you to everyone who is doing their part and socially distancing and following the recommendations to stay at home. Because of everyone’s sacrifice, we have started to flatten the curve and are seeing the benefits in terms of a slower rise in cases.

Also, pay close attention in the coming weeks as state and local governments discuss what they are looking for before lifting some of these restrictions. It is important that we don’t relax things too early so follow the guidance of your local authorities, as what is true in one place may not be true in another part of the country.

On to telehealth.

In the video, we answer the following questions:

  1. What is telehealth?
  2. What are the changes to telehealth that have happened because of the coronavirus?
  3. Can everybody use telehealth?
  4. Will people have to pay more for telehealth?
  5. Are there any conditions where a patient couldn’t use telehealth and would have to go in person? Can you use telehealth for a first time visit?
  6. Can you get prescriptions filled from telehealth?
  7. Can patients with chronic conditions do their regular maintenance appointments with telehealth?
  8. What advice would you give to a patient so that they can make the most of their telehealth visit?
  9. If a patient has something they feel can’t wait and needs to be seen in person, is that still an option?
  10. What are options if your provider does not offer telehealth?

Thanks to Dr. Brandi Shah!

Once again, if you need any help or support during this time, please reach out to your h\Health Advisor. Now as always, we are here to help. See you next week!