Having a cold may sound trivial in the spectrum of illness, but a cold can be a life interrupting illness all the same and when it knocks you off your feet it can be difficult to know if it’s just a cold or something more serious such as influenza. A simple cold can make you feel as if you can’t get out of your bed … the fever, body aches, relentless coughing, sore throat, and fatigue from lack of sleep (due to coughing) can truly make you feel as if you’re dying! The thought of dragging your achy feverish body out of your bed to go to a crowded doctor’s office isn’t too appealing.
Fortunately, there is another alternative; telemedicine offers face-to-face video chat doctor appointments that you can have right from the comfort of your bed. No more worrying about whether you have something more than a cold and not knowing. Teleconferencing (video chat) allows you to talk with a U.S board certified doctor in your state who will sort through your symptoms and physical appearance to make a diagnosis and get you started on the proper treatment plan right away to speed you to recovery.
The process to begin a video chat doctor’s appointment is very simple and only takes minutes to do, you only need to register online with the telemedicine company of your choice to begin your video chat appointment by computer or download a free app for your mobile phone device.
There will be a host of questions to answer regarding your medical history, who your primary care physician is and your medical insurance information, this information is so the doctor can access your health history before treating you. Medical insurance is not required to use the services of a telemedicine company, but if you have insurance your telemedicine appointment may be covered under your insurance plan. Once you have registered you are ready to select a time and date you wish to make a video chat doctors appointment. Typically, you will have a response within minutes with a list of the doctors who are available to see you. You make your choice and you are ready to go.
How A Video Chat Doctor Will Treat a Cold?
Now that you are registered with the video chat service company of your choice and have scheduled an appointment with a U.S board certified doctor licensed in your state to practice medicine your face-to-face video chat will begin. It is important to conduct your videoconference in a quiet room with no bright lighting in the background. Your video chat doctor appointment will be just like a doctor’s office visit, with the doctor asking you pertinent questions and you telling him or her what your symptoms are. The doctor will also be making a visual assessment of your physical appearance during your chat session.
If the doctor determines you have influenza the treatment varies from one patient to another depending on their age, physical condition, symptoms and health history. For patients with a more complicated medical history and depending on your present symptoms the doctor may recommend an emergency room visit. However, for most people the doctor may simply prescribe anti-viral medication and have you increase your fluid intake, get plenty of rest and recommend over the counter pain relievers.
If it’s just the common cold there are no prescription medications that will cure it, but the doctor can provide a treatment plan for you that will help you to get better faster as well as alleviate your fears of having something more serious.
Once the doctor has given you a diagnosis and treatment plan he or she will answer any questions you may have and make certain you understand all instructions.
What Information You Will Need to Have Ready for The Doctor
When you see a doctor, no matter what the setting is, it is always a good practice to make a list of any questions you want to ask the doctor. It is also important to make a list of your symptoms and when they began, take your temperature just before starting your doctor video chat appointment and any other information about your health you feel is pertinent to your condition such as allergies to medications.
What Kind of Resolution Can I Expect from The Doctor?
When your face-to-face video chat consultation with the doctor is completed the doctor will provide you with your diagnosis and a treatment plan. If you have been diagnosed with influenza as approximately twenty percent of people do the doctor will discuss this with you and prescribe any necessary prescription drugs you may require to treat your illness The doctor will call or electronically send in your prescriptions to the local pharmacy of your choice. The doctor will explain about how long your illness will last and give you follow up instructions if there are any. Before concluding your video chat consultation, the doctor will answer any questions you may have.
Typically, most telemedicine companies will allow up to seven days for you to contact them with any follow up questions you may have forgotten to ask. This varies from one company to the next. Prescriptions are given based solely upon the doctor’s judgment and are in no way obligated to write a prescription unless deemed necessary by him or her, remember a cold is a virus and antibiotics are ineffective for treating it.
By getting your diagnosis sooner and the proper treatment plan from your video chat doctor you will get better faster and be back on the road to good health without the worry of not knowing what you have. Should the doctor feel your illness is something more serious he or she will instruct you to visit your nearest urgent care center or hospital emergency room.
