FV Anywhere

You and the health professional, and often a medical secretary or an interpreter if you have required one, will be on a computer screen at each end of the teleconsultation. At the start of the consultation everyone will introduce themselves. You will be asked some identifying questions such as your full name, and date of birth. The doctor will provide a short explanation on how a teleconsultation works.

Then your doctor will ask you questions in the same way as they would at a face-to-face consultation, and can also ask you to show some parts of your body or to perform some movements (it is called “doctor-directed patient self-examination”).

Here are some things to remember:

Appointments are 20–60 minutes, depending on the requirement of your specific medical specialty. For logistical reasons we have to be quite strict regarding the duration of a teleconsultation, only the doctor may extend it for medical reasons and never for more than a few minutes.

Yes, up to 3 people may join your teleconsultation.

At the time of consultation, you will see your doctor through a screen. Often the doctor will be supported by a medical secretary, and if necessary by an interpreter.

Assisted teleconsultations can also be arranged: if you book this service, a nurse will be with you to assist you during the consultation, monitor your vital signs and, if ordered by the doctor, perform medical investigations such as specimen collection, ECG, INBODY, etc.

It is also possible, only with Zalo/Team, to have another participant who is in another location, for example if you have a doctor who resides in another country, this must be requested in advance in order to be organised properly.

The same privacy and confidentiality requirements that apply to face-to-face consultations apply to teleconsultations. Documentation will be taken during the consultation by the doctor and will then be entered into your medical record, as would normally happen during a face-to-face consultation.

Here are some things to know:

During telerehabilitation, the therapist conducts an online session using digital technologies such as video conferencing or apps. The session typically includes assessment, guided exercises, education, and follow-up planning. The therapist observes your movements, provides real-time feedback, adjusts exercises as needed, and assigns a home program to support recovery.

Technological issues: the video connection may not work or it may stop working during the teleconsultation, or the video picture or information transmitted may not be clear enough to be useful for the consultation.

The doctor being unable to perform a physical examination must rely on information provided by you, and may be required to ask more questions to ensure that they get a comprehensive health history. If you leave out an important symptom that might have been noticeable during in-person care, this can compromise diagnosis and treatment.

During the teleconsultation, your doctor may determine that your condition is not suitable for a remote consultation and may recommend a face-to-face appointment at FV Hospital.

Your doctor may recommend tests. FV offers home blood collection (HCMC area or nearby). You can also have your tests done at FV Hospital, or performed in another facility and you can send the test results via email to the medical secretary or use Zalo/Viber/ WhatsApp/Team to send them to the Telemedicine Centre. A follow-up teleconsultation will be organised to review the situation with the results of your blood tests.

Your doctor may ask you to have x-rays or other imaging tests; if you want to have them performed at FV Hospital the medical secretary will book you an appointment. If you prefer to have them done in another facility you can send the reports via email to the medical secretary Telemedicine Centre, the doctor will then decide whether a new teleconsultation or a face-to-face consultation is required.