During the Coronavirus quarantine, I have had to do several doctor visits by video chat. So far, I’ve had to do them with my family doctor and psychiatrist, and starting this week, I will be doing them with my counselor too.
I must admit I’m not big on the whole televisit thing. I always worry about our internet connection during them because we live out in the middle of nowhere and have satellite internet (which sucks). But even aside from that, it makes me more nervous for some reason and makes me feel awkward sharing personal information. I have always hated talking on the phone and feel this is kind of similar.
I guess the upsides are that I don’t have to get dressed and ready to go out, or sit in a boring waiting room, but I still prefer the face to face contact. My counselor did offer in-person appointments but we would’ve had to wear masks, and I can’t wear a face mask for long because it irritates my asthma.
What about you? Have you had to do doctor televisits during Covid? If so, how do you feel about them?
I never even thought about televisits. I may not have been to the doctor since the Internet was invented š But it sounds halfway between “better than nothing” and a good physical checkup — probably great for some things, not so good for others, no?
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Man, you must be a healthy bugger! lol Lucky!
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Hahaha. Yes, all this hitchhiking around and up and down mountains does the trick!
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I’ve been doing phone visits with my doctor. It was okay, but I definitely prefer in-person.
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I did one phone visit, but most of them want to do video visits.
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I routinely only see my doctor every 3 months (my appointment is Thursday, the day before our area goes “green”) and it will be an in-office visit. Thinking about a televised visit would traumatize me! First, I am totally technology illiterate and would completely bugger everything up trying to set it up. Second, it feels invasive of my space, for them to be able to see things in the background! For these types of visits, I prefer a neutral and professional setting. As for phone visits, I only speak on the phone when I don’t have a choice – to anyone!
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I’m with you, especially on that last part.
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I donāt mind telemedicine so much, but I REALLY hate teletherapy. I also hated meeting my psych prescriber via phone call. That sucked. I guess I prefer teletherapy over having to meet her with a mask on because I wouldnāt be able to read facial expressions and such, but I would rather be there with her. Itās just awkward.
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Yeah it is š¦
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
ONE NEEDS AN INTREPID SPIRIT THESE DAYS!!!!!
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It was fine except I like to know my BP
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Oh yeah, didn’t even think about that
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We had to do a televisit for my son’s pediatrician. They use zoom and our video wouldn’t work after the nurse patched us in to the doctor. Didn’t care for it at all.
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I’m with you!
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We dislike Telehealth. We dissociate. Our doctor and psychiatric appointments have been in-person. Psychiatrist didnāt require mask for us. Doctor did.
Therapy appointments on video feel awkward and not authentic to us. We have been meeting in parked cars since April. No end to this in sight for us.
Wishing you well.
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Wow, I’m sorry you are going through all that. Sounds horrible.
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It meets the need for āin personā therapy at some level.
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ā” I’m afraid I don’t have AnyThing Useful to Contribute EveryOne; there was a Linear Time I Was Desperate for Medical Attention both Psychological and Physiological…then I Grabbed The Bull By The Horns and Isolated MySelf well before This COVID-19, Common Cold NoneSense; over The Last Decade or Two This Evolving Fallen Angel has Arisen like a Phoenix from The Ashes of Conditioning and No Longer Has a Requirement for Medical Attention except for Physical Trauma like Deep Lacerations, Internal Bleeding and Broken Bones
…ā”ā”ā”…
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I’ve had eight televisits thus far. I don’t like the picture part but I love not having to drag myself out and wait just to see my doctor. The televisits were all on time and I can see how helpful they would be when I go back to work. Then I wouldn’t have to miss 2 hours of work for one appointment anymore!
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Yeah, you sound a lot like me. I really don’t like the picture bit. Although I hate talking on the phone, I think I do prefer that to the video thing.
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I have not done this and its not something I could do unless I was able to type my part of the conversation.
But as my internet is not unlimited, I would avoid video calls and would only communicate via a typing method, or email.
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Yeah, I totally understand. Our internet sucks š¦ I’m not sure if it will even work for all the appointments I have coming up.
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Yes, I would worry with that kind of thing too, as it would disrupt the communication.
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Over the past 3 months, I had 8 appointments scheduled with my counselor. As of the third week in March, all appointments were over the phone. I’m not even sure this facility does video chats. Two I had to reschedule, one at the beginning of it all before they stopped in-person visits and the other was simply too early in the morning to accommodate my ever worsening sleep problems. Also, two appointments he missed completely, no explanation, my counselor just didn’t call. I would hardly call the 4 appointments where I did speak with him “therapy.” They were very brief check-ins, one of which he was more than an hour late in calling. Honestly, I hate these televisits. I’m seriously considering quitting therapy as a result.
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Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. I will say that my therapist gave me the entire 45 minutes to an hour even over the phone. Maybe consider switching counselors rather than quitting entirely? Or mention to your counselor that it is bothering you? I understand why you are so discouraged though.
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