Using telehealth
Telehealth can save you the time and expense of travelling to see a doctor. You won't have to spend as much time away from home, family, and work.
When we use telehealth
We use telehealth for:
- at-home patient appointments
- emergency support and advice
- inpatient ward rounds
- outpatient appointments
- transfer of clinical images for specialist advice.
How telehealth works
A specialist or GP will send you a video link for your appointment. You can do it at a health care centre, or at home. It's a good idea to test the link before your appointment.
You can ask a family member, carer or friend to be there for your telehealth appointment.
Telehealth at a clinic or doctor's office
If you're going to a health care centre or your doctor's office for a video link, the staff will help with the equipment.
Before your appointment, the nurse will tell you what to expect during the call. They may take your blood pressure, temperature and do other tests. If you wish, they can sit in the room and help you during your appointment.
Your health professional will update your medical records after your appointment.
Telehealth at home
If you have a computer or a smart device and the internet, you can do your telehealth appointment at home.
For your video link, you'll need:
- a computer, tablet or smartphone
- a webcam, microphone, and speakers (these all might be built into your device already)
- internet access.
If you don't have these things, you'll need to let your specialist know. They'll reschedule your appointment with your local health care centre so you can have your appointment there instead.
On your appointment day, we'll send you an email or text message with a video link to use. The message will also tell you what to do if you run into problems with setting up the video link.
Watch this video and learn about virtual care and how it gives you more choice.