Imagine this. You wake up Saturday morning, and your eye is stuck together with a yellow-green discharge. You’ve had pink eye before, and this feels like it.
Unfortunately, it’s a long weekend due to a holiday, and your doctor’s office isn’t open until Tuesday. You don’t want to deal with pink eye for three days.
It burns when you go to the bathroom, and it still feels like you need to go. You suspect you have a UTI, but it’s the weekend and you don’t want to go through this for days without getting relief. A telehealth visit is ideal in those situations.
California urgent cares offer telehealth visits. It’s essential to understand how telehealth visits work. How do prescriptions work when you cannot leave your home but need medicated eye drops to treat the infection?
Telehealth Urgent Care Visits Explained
Virtual urgent care visits typically last no more than 30 minutes, so they’re not going to take up a lot of your day. It’s essential to ensure you have a high-speed internet connection and a device with a microphone and a camera.
Sit in a brightly lit spot and aim for privacy if you’re at the office or if you share your home with others. Gather your insurance information, if needed, and a list of any prescription and non-prescription medications or supplements you currently take. Have the name and address for your preferred pharmacy ready to share.
It starts with the link to a secure video chat. Verify your name, date of birth, and any other information the registration advisor requires. You must consent to the telehealth visit and agree that you understand HIPAA and privacy laws.
Share your complaint and give as much detail as possible. How long has it been since the onset of symptoms, how painful or uncomfortable the condition is, and what you’ve done so far to treat it. After sharing this, you wait to connect to a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.
Some of the questions you answer may seem repetitive, but it’s important. The doctor cannot physically touch you, so you might need to assist the doctor. This includes sharing your height, weight, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, breathing rate, or even your oxygen level, if you have the right equipment.
If you have a sore throat, you might need to turn on your flashlight and position your device’s camera so the doctor can see inside your mouth. For pink eye, you’d show a close-up of both eyes and show any crusting or discharge coming from your tear ducts.
For a rash, you’d show the area of skin that’s problematic, and you might be asked to hold a ruler against it to show how large the rash is. You might be asked when you last went to the bathroom and if the urine was pink, dark, clear, or cloudy. All this information helps the doctor diagnose possible issues.
Once your doctor knows what’s wrong, you’ll discuss a treatment plan. This might include over-the-counter topical ointments, vitamins, or dietary changes. Some situations require prescription medications. Sometimes, a health issue requires an in-person visit, so you’ll be advised and instructed on what to do in the meantime.
The call ends with a post-visit summary that reiterates the treatment plan. You also get instructions regarding follow-up care.
A Guide to Remote Prescriptions
If the doctor believes a prescription is required, the electronic prescription is sent via a secure connection to your chosen pharmacy.
After receiving the electronic prescription, the pharmacy fills it as quickly as possible. If there’s a delay, you’ll get a call. Your doctor can also discuss the prescription with the pharmacist to ensure you get an effective medication that day.
It’s a simple process that works like this.
- The doctor ends the call with you and determines the proper dosage and amount of pills/liquid needed.
- The doctor uses the computer to generate the prescription order.
- The prescription is sent electronically to your pharmacy.
- The pharmacist is notified that a prescription needs to be filled.
- The pharmacist checks that your medication doesn’t interfere with other medicines you take.
- The pharmacist fills your prescription.
Once the prescription is ready, most pharmacists call you to let you know you can pick it up at your convenience. Deliveries are another option for certain medications.
California pharmacies are legally allowed to deliver prescriptions to a patient’s home or office. If this option is offered, you must have a photo ID available to verify your identity. Some medications are ineligible for delivery, including temperature-sensitive medicines such as insulin and controlled substances.
California’s Regulations for Telehealth Prescriptions
Senate Bill 1665, the Telemedicine Development Act of 1996, established guidelines for telehealth visits. It’s been updated twice, with AB 809 being the current law.
Doctors who provide your care in a telehealth visit must be licensed in California. Doctors can live in another state, but they must have a current medical license in California.
They must provide the same level of care you’d get in person. Your medical information must be kept private.
The patient must provide verbal or written consent prior to a telehealth visit. This informed consent is added to your medical file.
If a Schedule II drug is advised, you will need to attend an in-person visit.
California pharmacies are legally allowed to deliver prescriptions to a patient’s home or office. If this option is offered, you need to have a photo ID available to prove your identity to the delivery driver or pharmacist. The store’s pharmacy department will explain this to you.
When Should You Go to Urgent Care vs. Attend a Telehealth Visit?
Knowing when a virtual health visit suffices is essential, but it’s also a question people struggle with. How do you know when it’s better to go straight to urgent care and wait to be seen in person? Telehealth visits are recommended for:
- Allergies
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Body aches
- Cold/cough
- Diarrhea
- Earache
- Fever/chills
- Headache
- Nausea/vomiting
- Pink eye
- Rash
- Sore throat
- Suspected UTI
There are times you should go to urgent care instead. If you have a suspected abscess or infected cut, go to urgent care to have a doctor examine and clean it. In-person visits are also recommended for health issues that are certain to require lab tests or cultures, broken bones, or cuts that need stitches.
For serious health issues, such as a suspected heart attack or signs of a stroke, go straight to the ER or call 911.
Schedule a Telemedicine Visit and Get Answers to Your Urgent Health Issue
A telemedicine visit with Premium Urgent Care is designed to be quick and stress-free. Fill out the quick form, share your health problem, and choose how to initiate the telemedicine visit. You’ll receive a link via text or email that connects you to the doctor.
If a prescription medication is recommended, it’s sent to your preferred physician. Pick up your prescription there or have it delivered if that’s an option. It’s that easy.