FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What is telehealth and how can it benefit me?

• Telehealth allows patients to meet with a health care provider using a smartphone, tablet or laptop with webcam. It’s an easy way to consult with a health care provider from the comfort of your home. They are sometimes called ‘virtual visits’ or ‘telemedicine’.
• This will benefit many patients by reducing wait times, avoiding exposure to Covid-19, and avoiding the hassle of travel to a doctor’s appointment. Appointments take place in your own home. You will be able to see, hear, and talk to a health care provider through video conferencing on your smart device.
• United Community Health Clinic providers will listen to your symptoms, give recommendations, prescribe medications, and discuss your personal plan for care. If applicable, they may also advise when you may return to work. We will strive to provide the same quality of care that you would receive during an in-office visit at United Community Health Center

How does a telehealth appointment work?

• A telehealth appointment is similar to a regular appointment in many ways – but with the use of cameras and technology. In a telehealth appointment, you will be able to see yourself and your health care provider on the screen once your session begins.

Is Telehealth private and secure?

• Yes. Just like a regular doctor's appointment - your telehealth visit will be private and confidential. What you say during your visit can only be seen and heard by you and your health care team. We use a HIPPA compliant/secure version of Zoom.

What is Zoom?

• Zoom is a free app that you will need to download to your smart device through your app store. It allows you to join on a two way video call with a UCHC provider. We have a secure HIPPA compliant version – so the video conference is safe and secure.
• If you are using a laptop with a camera – you will need to go to www.Zoom.com to download the program onto your computer.
• Once you’re in Zoom – you will want to locate how to allow device audio, mute/unmute and turn on & off the video camera.

What are the steps to get a telehealth visit?

• First, call our office. We will set up an appointment time that is convenient for you.
• You will get an email notifying you of your upcoming appointment. From the link in your email you will be directed to log into your patient portal. If you have not previously created a patient portal account, your email will direct you on how to set up a portal account.
• Once you have logged into your patient portal account, you must self-check in to your scheduled telehealth appointment. You can self-check in to your appointment 10 days prior to your appointment.
• Next, on the day of your appointment you will receive an email from telehealthmedical@uchcsl.com. This email will have a link that you will need to click to access your scheduled Zoom appointment.
• We would recommend you to have your Zoom open and be ready for your appointment about 15 minutes prior to your scheduled time.
• Take this time to verify your video and sound are on and working properly

Is there a cost to telehealth appointments?

• You will be billed for your telehealth appointment the same as if you were seeing your healthcare provider in person. Nearly all insurers cover telehealth services. To find out if your insurance company will cover these services, please contact them directly – your copay may even be fully covered!
• During the self-check in process, you may be asked to pay your co-pay. At this time we recommend choosing ‘bill later’ rather than paying online.

What should I do to prepare before my telehealth appointment?

• If possible, gather medical equipment that you may have at home. Examples would include - thermometer, blood pressure cuff, scale, heart rate or smart watch data. Record any information you may have. If you don’t have any of the above, it is not a problem!
• Find a quiet, well lit, private place to sit and talk - away from children, pets and other distractions. Make sure you can be there for about 30 minutes or so. You’ll likely talk with a nurse first, then wait a few minutes for the health care provider to arrive.
• Charge or plug in your phone or computer. Get some paper and a pen for taking notes.
• Write down any items that you may want to ask or address before you start so that you make sure to cover all symptoms and questions.
• Zoom is very user friendly, but you may want to take some time to locate how to mute/unmute and turn video on & off.
• If you’re having technical difficulties with any of the above process, we encourage you to call our office at 712-213-0109 and we will do our best to assist you.

What if I don’t speak English?

• Not a problem! As always, we have Spanish interpreters available and we have telephone interpreters available for other languages. Just let us know your preferred language when calling to set up your telehealth appointment.
• The patient portal can be set to Spanish language.

What if I’m a new patient to United Community Health Center?

• Unfortunately, at this time telehealth appointments are only for established patients

My computer or smart device doesn’t seem to be working correct – what should I do?

• You may want to try to restart your computer or close any unnecessary programs/applications prior to your appointment.
• Call our office and discuss rescheduling or coming in for an office visit.

What if I still have questions about this service and how to set up and arrange an appointment?

• We understand and are here to help! This is likely a brand new process for you to learn and we can understand that it may be overwhelming. We want you to know that we are here to help guide you through the process every step of the way!
• Some of the many things we can help with include: getting an email account, downloading the Zoom application, opening and navigating the Zoom application. Just give us a call. This is a very new process for us as well – but we are here to work through this with you!