Telehealth visits with the CureCenter for Chronic Disease are very effective & comparable to the in person experience for our CureCenter for Chronic Disease CurePlan. But there are a few unique issues that may not be obvious. Please follow these ground rules, for a more satisfying experience.

Have your phone handy in case the Zoom meeting is interrupted, which can happen due to comupter crashes and intenet connection issues.

In that event, you will get a call to clarify the situation, estimate when the Zoom experience can resume and continue the encounter on the phone in the event the video and screensharing cannot be restored.

Have the following available, in advance, for reference:

• Current medication list, including over the counter medications and supplements. Have the bottles handy just in case questions arise. If possible, send us the medication list in advance of the appointment so that we can reconcile your list in your record. CureCoach Communicate messaging and file sharing makes sharing such documents easy, secure and private. Email is a backup plan for sharing information but CureCoach Conversations is more secure and private.

• Recent blood pressure readings. We go by a representative reading from your home readings or other health care encounters. Please be ready to provide a representative blood pressure reading. We need a number, not “it was good.” Definitions of “good” often differ from our optimal goals.

• Your calendar: At the end we schedule the next appointment, Carotid IMT ultrasound, and labs. If you need to change it later, that’s OK. You will have documentation of your appointments scheduled for labs, imaging, InBody and CurePlan update before we sign off.

• Click on the Enter Zoom Appointment Waiting Room button at least 5 minutes before the scheduled appointment to be sure that you are able to join. Unmute your microphone and Start your video before the meeting starts. If you have never used Zoom or experience problems, this How to video and others should help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo1l6Ijz_wg

• The Host will admit you from the waiting room when the meeting is started.

• One person should talk and the other listen carefully. Talking over and interrupting is a problem in person; Zoom only makes it worse. Please note your questions so we can address them after I attempt cover them during my presentation. I anticipate and cover most questions based on past experience.

• If you aren’t familiar or comfortable with Zoom, consider a trial run by clicking on the Zoom waiting room button above before 7 am or after 6 pm when it is very unlikely we would be engaged with another patient in the Zoom room.

• If you don’t enter the waiting room by 5 minutes after the hour, you will receive a call on your mobile phone to remind you or assist you. If you don’t answer or appear by 10 minutes after the appointment time, the appointment will be considered a no show and we will reach out to reschedule. Our policy is to assess a $75 out of pocket fee for failing to keep an appointment or cancel with at least 2 business days notice whether in person or telehealth.

• Arrange your environment as you would a professional office visit in person. That means a quiet place at a time when there should be no interruptions or eavesdroppers. Outside locations and associated wind noise or while driving or otherwise preoccupied are not acceptable. Barking dogs, crying children and partners doing the dishes are distracting to the other side of the conversation even if you have tuned them out. Microphones don’t filter. If distractions persist, the meeting will be ended and rescheduled. We won’t make the next appointment wait because we had to take a long time to get rid of distractions. We will pick another time to finish.

• There is a lot of information to convey. I will cover the material completely with plenty of time to ask questions. Your results will be shared on the screen and provided to you in a number of PDF’s when finished so that you can review. This will include a copy of your note with the plan we develop together and lab/imaging reports. They will be downloadable from CureCoach. If you can’t use CureCoach, we will email them, but this is less secure and organized.

• Jot down questions as we go. If you are Zoom savvy, you can enter questions in the Chat for clarity. After the review is finished, there will be ample time to answer any questions. It is much more effective to go back than to get back on track after interruptions. Having done this many times, most questions have been anticipated and addressed.

• If the video and audio are interrupted or start to become technically distorted, we may revert to using a phone call for the audio. The key information is presented by sharing our screens. If the technology fails completely, you will get a phone call to continue the conversation until the video can be reestablished.

I’m happy to deliver the same Personalized CurePlan for Chronic Disease in person or on Zoom. Following these rules will make it an experience we will want to repeat without hesitation.