Getting Started with Telehealth
Getting into San Francisco for a patient visit (or work) is not always easy. For patient visits that don't need a hands-on physical exam, video visits can now help patients access our care more efficiently and easily. In the five years since video visits first became available at UCSF, they’ve saved patients almost 9 million miles of commuting. As a physician, in addition to performing video visits from your clinical office, you can use telehealth to save on your own commute by offering telehealth visits from home.
All you need is:
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A desktop or laptop computer equipped with a camera
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Standard broadband Internet service
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A suitably quiet and private place to work
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To be dressed professionally
It may take some planning to be able to offer a half or full day clinic exclusively via telehealth, but it’s worth the effort. UCSF physicians who use telehealth in this manner report that visits take less time; 20 minute appointments can be replaced with 15 minute ones. Patients benefit from savings on transportation, parking, childcare, and missed work that are often associated with in-person visits. Patients also rate their experience, including communication, more highly with video visits.
For training, additional information, or to be connected to colleagues in your clinic who may already be doing this, email
telehealthresourcenter@ucsf.edu.
Thanks to Linda Branagan for this information on telehealth!
