With stay-at-home orders in place all over the country, people are unsure what to do if they start to feel ill. After all, going to the emergency room may unnecessarily take up needed resources during the coronavirus pandemic. But not getting medical care can be scarier than ever. Enter virtual doctor visits, also called telehealth, where you can get a consultation from a doctor without having to leave home.
“I was really thankful that I didn’t need to take my toddler to the emergency room,” Atlanta mom Chelsea Hamer told Mom.com. “Our pediatrician was able to determine it was likely an ear infection and said we could pick up the medicine at the pharmacy.”
What are virtual doctor visits?
How do you get medicine/prescriptions?
As with any prescription, your doctor must first make an assessment of your symptoms and determine a course of action. If your health issue can be diagnosed via the virtual doctor appointment, your doctor is able to electronically prescribe the medicine you need. This is sent directly to the pharmacy.
Depending on your pharmacy, prescriptions might need to be picked up, but more and more providers such as Kaiser have services where they will mail them to you. Of course, if it is a time-sensitive prescription, meaning you need it sooner than later, you may need to go to the pharmacy. You can at least do so once the order is ready to be picked up, rather than wait around. This reduces time away from the house while you need to recover.
Remember that a virtual doctor visit can help reduce the time outside the home when sick. This reduces your chances of getting others sick or getting worse yourself. It also allows you to spend more time recuperating rather than commuting and waiting.
However, this isn’t a perfect scenario. There will still be times that your doctor may need to see you, get more tests, or send you to an emergency room for faster treatment. But it is a great place to start.
