There is a range of video consultation options available online. Health Hawke’s Bay is recommending the use of Doxy.me as one of the more stable platforms available.
Doxy.me is free for individual users.
If a more robust clinic setup is required this can be done by paying a nominal fee based on the number of users within a practice.
Please follow this link HERE to access: ‘Video Guide for Providers on Delivering Video Consultations’. These videos are found at the end of the document.
Phone Consults
Telephone consulting is one part of a more comprehensive shift towards a so-called ‘demand-led system’ of providing care for their patients. This seeks to match services to patients’ needs in a deliberate way.
A telephone appointment is the same as a normal face to face/ in-person appointment, conducted over the phone instead of at the Practice. If you’re doing a phone consultation, you will need to ask you some initial questions to make sure you are talking to the right person. If you’re doing a video consultation, you might ask the patient to confirm their phone number and tell them that you will call them if the video call is disconnected at any time. Clinicians are often most comfortable using telehealth with patients they know well, and when they are managing long-standing health issues. For example routine chronic disease management, especially where the condition is fairly stable – for example conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure.
There is no need to use a video if a telephone call will suffice. The decision to offer a video consultation should be part of the wider system of triage offered in your practice. It should be understood that the addition of visual images via a video link adds value to any telehealth consultation and can improve both quality and safety for more complex consultations. For some patients, a video consultation may be more appropriate than the telephone – for example, where the patient is hard of hearing or deaf, a video consultation will provide them the opportunity to lip read. Video consultations allow GPs to view patients, which can assist in wound management and reviews and may assist in determining if they look unwell, given there is no opportunity to undertake a physical examination
Doxy.me instructional video’s