A Guide to Telehealth Care

Contents

  1. What is telehealth?
  2. How do I get started?
  3. Performing a telehealth session

What is telehealth?

Telehealth is the provision of healthcare remotely by means of telecommunications technology. It is a way for you to provide care to your patient, even if not in the same physical location.

How do I get started?

Our EHR software is designed to be able to function online, from anywhere. It will be important in following these steps for you first to have an account with our EHR to be able to use the notes and emailable intakes in the telehealth process.

Next, you will need an account through doxy.me, a free, encrypted video-conferencing service.

  1. Follow the link to doxy.me and fill out your information.

  2. As the “Room Name”, you will enter the name that you wish to direct your clients to when the time comes to perform the session. For example, if the Room Name is ‘JohnDoe’, the clients will need to follow the link “https://doxy.me/JohnDoe” to enter your telehealth ‘waiting room’. Then click on “Sign Up”.

  3. It may be useful for you to review the help and tutorials of doxy.me to have a grasp of the use of their software.

Performing a telehealth session

Here is where you will notice the most ease and comfort, as well as the most need to follow guidelines and protocol.

  1. You will want to communicate with the patient or the facility acting as the originating site that it will be helpful and smoother if the patient has a functional email in their records on Therapractic. This will allow you to send the patient their consent forms, as well as intake questions to be filled out before the session.

  2. Review the information in the Notes and Scheduler help menus. Notice how you can schedule the patient, email them the necessary information, and thus be prepared for the session, just like you might for a regular session.

  3. When the time of the session comes, you will want to call, message (using the encrypted messaging system), or email the client to provide them with the full, correct link to your ‘waiting room’. This will be the link you created upon sign up on doxy.me. You may also want to be signed in to your doxy.me account at this time to be able to see if the patient typed in the link correctly.

    It may also be helpful to instruct them how to go to the link, by opening their browser, entering the link, typing in their name in the prompt box, then clicking “Check In”.

  4. You will see their name pop up in your “Patient Queue”. To begin the session, click on their name. It may be of use to you at this time to open doxy.me in one window/screen, and the Therapractic notes in another window/screen, depending on your workflow preferences.

    Note: For normality in the session, make sure the camera to your doxy.me screen is at arm’s length, centering yourself and your torso in the camera frame. This will help it to seem like you are sitting across from the client, rather than within intimiately close proximity to them.

  5. Walk through the rest of the session as if the patient were there in the office with you.

  6. Upon completion of the visit, hang up by clicking the red button on the doxy.me screen. It will be best if you can complete your note and sign it right away.