Dental patients should do these three things before their next telehealth appointment.
Share medical information
Dental patients can make telehealth appointments as efficient as possible by getting together the necessary documents beforehand. For example, they can fill out any forms requested by the dentist. Some of these forms ask for the patient’s medical history. Patients should also provide insurance card information. Doing these things before the visit will help patients have a better experience. The visit itself can be used to solve dental issues instead of paperwork-related problems. Dental offices now use software so that patients can submit forms securely using the internet. Patients can even digitally sign contracts.
Check computer equipment
Telehealth patients need to make sure their webcams, microphones, and speakers are working properly. The last thing they want is for something to malfunction during the appointment. Technical issues take time to resolve. Dentists see patients all day long. One technical issue can create a snowball effect. It can make dentists late for his or her next appointment. In addition, patients with technical issues might have to reschedule. Their dental problems will not be resolved and might even get worse. Therefore, the best thing patients can do before the appointment is to make sure their equipment is working. Check everything at least a week before the scheduled visit. They will then have time to replace any malfunctioning parts.
Create a plan
Patients should think about what they want to ask the doctor. This will help them get the most out of the telehealth appointment. Patients can write down their questions in a word document on their computer. During the visit, they can then ask every question on their list. By using a word document, patients can also take notes during the visit. They can write down the answers to their questions. They can also write down what they need to do before the next appointment. By planning, patients will keep themselves in check. They will not forget anything. Forgetting to ask something is inconvenient because the patient will then have to wait for the next appointment to ask the question. Creating a plan prevents this scenario.
By doing these things, dental patients will have great telehealth experiences.