01Video visits
Useful for some things, useless for others
Telehealth saves a trip for the right problems. It is dangerous for the wrong ones, so this page is as much about what we will not do by video as what we will.
- WhoEstablished patients located in Iowa
- Self-pay rate$59 sample rate
- Evening slotsAnkeny telehealth studio
- Converted visitsNever charged twice
02
The honest split
Two columns. Read the right one before you book.
Works well by video
- Rashes, eczema flares and insect bites, where a clear photo does most of the work
- Pink eye, as long as there is no eye pain or change in vision
- Medication follow-ups, including ADHD reviews between in-person visits
- Asthma check-ins and action plan changes
- Mild cold symptoms in a child who is otherwise well and drinking
- Results conversations and second opinions on something we already examined
- Behaviour and mood follow-ups, so school is not missed
- Lactation follow-up once we have done the first in-person weighted feed
Needs a room and a pair of hands
- Any fever in a baby under three months
- Ear pain, because an ear cannot be examined through a camera
- Abdominal pain, which needs hands on the abdomen
- Trouble breathing or a child working hard to breathe
- Dehydration, vomiting that will not stop, or a child who will not drink
- Injuries that may need imaging or stitches
- A first lactation consult, which needs a weighted feed
- Anything where the honest answer is that we need to look properly
If this is a medical emergency, or your child is struggling to breathe, unresponsive, having a seizure, or badly injured, call 911 now. Call 911.
General information, not medical advice. It is not tailored to your child and it does not replace a visit.
03
Making the ten minutes count
- Set up near a window.Daylight is far better than a ceiling light for skin, eyes and colour.
- Have your child in the room.We need to see them move, not hear about it.
- Take the photo first.A close, in-focus photo of a rash uploaded to the portal beforehand beats anything a webcam can do live.
- Write down the timeline.When it started, what changed, what you gave and at what time.
- Have the medicines to hand.The concentration on the bottle matters for any dosing conversation.
04
Questions about telehealth
Established patients who are physically located in Iowa at the time of the visit, because our clinicians are licensed in Iowa. If you are travelling out of state we can advise but not treat.
We convert it and you are not charged twice. Some problems simply cannot be assessed safely by video, and we would rather say so in the first two minutes than guess.
Most plans cover telehealth the same way as an office visit. Our self-pay telehealth rate is a sample $59 for this demonstration site.
A phone or laptop with a working camera, a well-lit room, and your child within arm's reach. Natural light beats a ceiling light for photographing a rash.
For some things, yes. Not for controlled medicines, and not for infections where an examination changes the answer, which is most of them in children.
Not sure if video will do?
Call the nurse line. She will tell you in ninety seconds whether this is a video visit, a clinic visit or something that needs an emergency department.