Getting ready for a telehealth visit: a phone and computer checklist

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A video visit is not for emergencies. Call 911 for severe chest pain or pressure, severe shortness of breath, sudden weakness or drooping on one side of the body, sudden trouble speaking, seeing or walking, heavy bleeding, or a severe allergic reaction with trouble breathing. If you are thinking about hurting yourself or someone else, call or text 988, the free Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, at any hour.

The short answer

The day before: find the visit link or app in the clinic's own reminder or patient portal, update the app, test the camera, microphone and sound, and charge the device.
Ten minutes before: sit somewhere private and quiet with good signal, close other apps, put on headphones if you have them, and sign on early.
Keep beside you: your medicine list, any home readings such as blood pressure or blood sugar, your pharmacy's details, your questions, and paper and a pen.
If the video fails: call the clinic and ask to switch to a phone call, reschedule or come in person.
Use only the link your clinic gave you. No real clinic asks you to pay with a gift card.
Coverage depends on your plan and on federal law, which changes. As of October 26, 2026, Medicare covers telehealth at home, including some phone-only visits, through December 31, 2027. Confirm with your plan before you count on it.

Print the one-page telehealth visit setup checklist to keep by your device. This page is general information, not advice from your clinician, clinic or health plan.

The day before

Find the visit details in the clinic's text, email, call or patient portal message: the time, the link or app, and the clinic's phone number. Some clinics ask you to fill out forms or "check in" first.
Get the app or link working. If the clinic uses an app, install it or update it from your phone's or computer's usual app store. Sign in once to make sure your password works. If the visit opens in a web browser, check that the browser is up to date.
Allow the camera and microphone. The first time you use a video app or website, it usually asks for permission to use the camera and microphone. If you said no before, open your device's settings, find that app or browser, and turn both on.
Test the camera, microphone and speakers. Many clinics offer a test link or help. Otherwise, try a video call with a friend on the same device.
Charge the device, and keep the charger where you will sit.
Pick a quiet, private spot with a good internet signal, where you can talk openly.
Ask for what you need, ahead of time: captions, a sign language or spoken-language interpreter, help with a screen reader, extra time, or a family member or helper joining the call.
Ask what the visit will cost and whether your plan covers it. If you cannot afford it, ask the clinic about local help.
Write down your questions, most important first.

Ten minutes before

Close other apps and programs. This can help the video run smoothly. Ask others at home to pause streaming or large downloads.
Choose Wi-Fi or cellular data. Avoid public Wi-Fi for a health visit. At home, sit near your Wi-Fi router if you can. If your Wi-Fi is weak and your phone has a good cellular signal, switching to cellular data may work better, but video uses a lot of data, so check your phone plan.
Put on headphones or earbuds if you have them, so you hear clearly and others in the room do not.
Set up the light and camera. Put a lamp or window in front of you, not behind you. Rest the phone or computer on a table or prop it up so it stays steady, with the camera at eye level and your face in the middle of the screen.
Have your ID and insurance card ready. Some clinics ask to see them or ask for the details.
Sign on a few minutes early, and never while driving.

During the call, a line or slash through the camera or microphone button usually means the other person cannot see or hear you. Tap it to turn that part back on.

What to have beside you

Your medicine list: every prescription, over-the-counter medicine, vitamin and supplement, with the dose and how often you take it. See Maintaining an Accurate Medication List.
Home readings, if they relate to the visit: blood pressure, blood sugar, weight or temperature, with the dates and times. Readings are more useful when they come from a blood pressure monitor that has been checked for accuracy; see choosing a validated home blood pressure monitor.
Allergies to medicines and foods.
Your pharmacy's name, address and phone number, in case the clinician sends a prescription.
Notes on your symptoms: when they started, how often they happen, and what makes them better or worse.
Paper and a pen for the plan, any new medicine and the next steps.

After the visit, ask for a summary or check your patient portal for one. See Using a Patient Portal.

Example (fictional): Rosa has a video follow-up for her blood pressure. The night before, she charges her tablet, opens the link from the clinic's portal message and lets the app use the camera and microphone. She copies two weeks of readings onto one page beside her medicine list. When the video freezes, she calls the clinic's number from the reminder, and the visit finishes by phone.

If the video fails

These are general steps, not tested on any particular app or device. Follow your clinic's instructions first.

What happens	Try this
The clinician cannot hear you	Check that the microphone button has no slash through it. Unplug and reconnect headphones, or take them off and use the device's own microphone. Check that the app has microphone permission.
You cannot hear the clinician	Turn up the volume on the device and in the app. Check that sound is going to the headphones or speaker you mean to use.
The picture freezes or the sound breaks up	Move closer to your router, ask others at home to stop streaming, or switch between Wi-Fi and cellular data. Turning off your own video for a moment can help the sound get through.
The link or app will not open	Close and reopen it, restart the device, or try another device or browser. Make sure you are using the link from the clinic's own reminder.
Nothing works	Message or call the clinic. Ask to finish the visit by phone, to reschedule, or to come in person.

Whether your plan pays for a phone-only visit depends on the plan and the type of care; see the coverage section below.

Privacy and scams

Use only links and numbers you trust. Open the visit from the clinic's own reminder, patient portal or app. If a text or email about a visit looks wrong or unexpected, do not tap the link; call the clinic at a number you already have, such as one from a bill or the portal. For more on fake texts, see Fake delivery, toll and bank texts: how to spot them and what to do.

Protect the visit itself. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) privacy tips for patients suggest that you:

choose a private spot and avoid public Wi-Fi;
prefer services that ask for a password plus a second check, such as a code sent to your phone;
avoid sending health details by ordinary email or text;
remove or secure any visit data left on your computer or phone when you finish; and
tell your clinicians and insurer about any health information you do not want shared with certain people.

Know what a real clinic will and will not ask. A real clinic may ask you to confirm your name and date of birth, to show your insurance card, or to pay a copay through its usual billing. The Federal Trade Commission says no real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them. If someone asks for a gift card, a wire transfer or your passwords to "unlock" a visit, hang up and call the clinic yourself.

Captions, interpreters and relay services

Federal civil rights laws, including Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, also apply to telehealth. Guidance issued by HHS and the U.S. Department of Justice in July 2022 explains what that means:

People with disabilities: health care providers must provide communication aids and services when needed, at no cost to the patient. Examples include real-time captions, a sign language interpreter who can join the video, materials that work with a screen reader, extra time to learn the platform, and letting a support person join. A provider may not require you to bring your own interpreter.
People who prefer a language other than English: a qualified interpreter may be needed, by phone or video, and providers should make clear that language help is free.

Ask for these when you book, so they are ready when the visit starts. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind or have a speech disability, dialing 711 connects you to a free relay service for phone calls to the clinic. Video relay and internet captioned phone services are reached through their own apps or numbers, not 711. In an emergency, TTY users should call 911 directly.

Below is what the official sources said on October 26, 2026. Before you rely on it, confirm with your plan or call the number on your insurance card.

Coverage	Video visit from home	Phone-only (audio-only) visit	What to check
Original Medicare	Covered from anywhere in the U.S., including home, through December 31, 2027	Allowed at home through December 31, 2027; after that, only for mental and behavioral health when you cannot use, or do not agree to, video	Your Part B deductible and 20 percent coinsurance
Medicare Advantage	Plans may offer more telehealth than Original Medicare	Ask the plan	Your plan's network and costs
Medi-Cal managed care (California)	Covered	Covered; a provider who offers phone visits must also offer video	Your right to an in-person visit instead
Job-based, Covered California or other plans	Depends on the plan	Depends on the plan	Ask the plan what it pays for video and phone visits

Medicare. Medicare.gov, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) telehealth FAQ updated October 9, 2026, and the HHS telehealth policy page all say that, through December 31, 2027, people with Medicare can get telehealth services anywhere in the United States, including at home. The CMS FAQ adds that audio-only (phone) services at home are allowed through the same date. HHS says this extension came from recent legislation. After you meet the Part B deductible, you generally pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount, and for most telehealth services the cost is the same as for an in-person visit.

Under current law, CMS says that starting January 1, 2028, people with Medicare will generally need to be at a health care facility in a rural area to get most telehealth services. Mental and behavioral health care is the main exception: telehealth at home is permanent for that care, and a phone-only visit stays allowed when you cannot use, or do not agree to, video. After December 31, 2027, Medicare will also generally require an in-person visit within six months before a first mental health telehealth visit, and then at least one in-person visit every 12 months, with limited exceptions. CMS says people who started mental health telehealth at home before 2028 do not need the six-month visit but still need the yearly one. Congress could change these dates again. For your own situation, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or ask your plan.

Medi-Cal. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) policy for Medi-Cal managed care plans says that, before your first telehealth visit, the provider must explain that:

you have the right to get the same care in person;
telehealth is voluntary, and you can withdraw your consent at any time without losing access to Medi-Cal services;
Medi-Cal's non-medical transportation is available to get you to in-person visits; and
telehealth may have limits or risks compared with an in-person visit.

You can give consent out loud or in writing, and the provider must note it in your record. A provider who offers phone-only visits must also offer video, and a provider who offers telehealth must offer in-person care or help you get it. A new patient can usually start care by phone only for sensitive services, such as mental health or reproductive health, or when the patient asks for a phone visit or has no way to do video.

California consent law. In California, Business and Professions Code section 2290.5 requires the health care provider who starts a telehealth visit to tell you about the use of telehealth and get your verbal or written consent first, and to document that consent. The same section says agreeing to telehealth does not stop you from getting in-person care later, and that health privacy laws apply to telehealth.

When an in-person visit is the better choice

Some problems need hands, tools or tests a camera cannot provide: listening closely to the heart and lungs, pressing on a painful belly, checking an injury, drawing blood, giving a vaccine or doing a procedure. If your clinician asks you to come in, the visit needs something telehealth cannot do.

You can also ask for an in-person visit yourself, for example if you cannot talk privately at home, the technology keeps failing, or you simply prefer it. California law and Medi-Cal policy both protect that choice.