In the last decade, as we live in an increasingly digital world, the way we access goods and services has changed drastically. Online shopping allows us to order what we need from the convenience of our own homes, chat and text capabilities let us speak to customer service representatives in a matter of seconds, and telehealth allows us to meet our doctors without ever having to leave the house.
At Starkel Nutrition, more and more clients choose telehealth appointments to meet with their favorite nutritionists. But some still wonder, what is a telehealth appointment and what are its benefits?
A telehealth appointment is a video meeting between you and your provider. To be covered by insurance*, a telehealth appointment must include both video and audio, meaning you need to have a laptop or a desktop computer with both audio and video capabilities. You can use your smartphone too!
What are the benefits? Here are a few that our clients mention and love:
1. Be at home – Convenience and Comfort
For everyone this means something different: it may be curling up on your favorite couch with a laptop in tow, it may be wearing pajama bottoms and fluffy socks, it may even mean having your cat nap on your lap. Your home is your comfort, and being able to be there for a nutrition appointment is calming and reenergizing. Not to mention you can show your nutritionist the supplements you are taking without having to bring heavy bottles with you to your appointment.
2. Be at work – Portability and accessibility
Not home during the appointment? You can take your appointment with you wherever you go. Step away into a quiet space at work, be it a conference room or your own office, turn on your phone and voila! You are ready to meet with your practitioner. This way you are minimizing your time away from your work day and can easily go back to your work day with minimal interruption.
3. Forget the traffic or the parking!
We all complain about Seattle traffic for a reason – it is awful. Unfortunately, parking is no better in many cases. Leave your car at home and spend the time you would waste in the car by reading a book, going for a walk or journaling. What a great way to ground yourself before your self-care appointment!
4. Save a lot of time
Leaving early, driving to the appointment and parking all adds up, so an hour appointment turns into a three hour block on your calendar. With a telehealth appointment, the hour is exactly an hour – grab your laptop or phone, join the meeting and you are on your way to better health.
5. No need to worry about childcare or pet care
Can’t find a babysitter or a dog walker? No problem! Keep your kids and pets at home while you attend to your appointment needs.
Telehealth is easy, fast and convenient. It saves you time, money and allows you to have more mental space for you. Not driving to your appointment will also beneficially impact the environment, reducing your carbon footprint and helping to keep our planet green.
Some may initially think that if it is not a ‘live’ appointment, it is not as efficient, productive or personal. Our clients say the opposite and mention they actually like it better than live appointments for various reasons of their own.
Ask your provider about telehealth appointments and get on our schedule today!**
* Unfortunately, Aetna is not telehealth-friendly and does not cover telehealth appointments. If you have Aetna insurance, we encourage you to contact them and voice your concerns over this in hopes of the voices of customers making a change.
**Please note, an intake appointment (1st appointment) has to always be in person
Written by Yuliya Rae