Video conferencing is a new feature introduced by Health Myself as an alternative to in-person, physical consultations between providers and their patients. Much like a regular appointment, the scheduling process involves the same procedure as e-booking or normal booking in the EMR. Quite simply, this is an appointment type with the video conference option enabled.


Recommended Device Requirements:

  • Computer/tablet/smartphone with a camera and microphone.
  • Good Wifi/wired Internet connection.  Minimum bandwidth is 540Kbps upstream per connection. For example, 10 concurrent video connections require at least 5.4Mbps upstream.  Check with your IT department.
  • Headset is preferred for better clarity.
  • Modern internet browser such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or MS Edge (Chromium).  Please update your browser to the latest version.
  • Check device compatibility here: https://portal.healthmyself.net/vc-test (if your device fails this test, please review the above conditions and contact support@healthmyself.ca).


To reiterate, any appointment type can have video conferencing enabled. Useful examples for providers include the Mental Health Virtual Visit appointment type and the Skin/Rash Virtual Visit appointment type. However, for generalization purposes, this document will detail how to set up a generic virtual visit known as a Video Call.


Prerequisite:

  • Video Conferencing is a licensed feature that must be activated by your Telus or Health Myself staff.  Please contact Telus sales for more information. You can verify that the feature has been enabled for a schedule if the Allow video appointments setting is turned ON in the Schedule Settings (Settings > Schedules > [select schedule] > Schedule Settings > Virtual Care).
  • In the EMR, create an appointment type that matches that of the Portal. ie. Video Call.
  • In the Portal, go to Settings, EMRs, your_EMR_name, View EMR Resources, and Pull Settings from EMR. This will update the Portal with the new Video Call appointment type.    

Set Up Base Appointment Type:

  1. In the Portal, go to Settings, Schedule, Clinic Appointment Types, and click New Appointment Type.
  2. Enter a Title, Internal Name, and click Save.
  3. Click and open the Video Call appointment type, and expand the General Settings.  Enter an appropriate Description.
  4. Scroll down and set the Duration of the visit, make sure the Is virtual visit box is checked, the Is video visit box is checked, and the Visible to patients box is checked.
  5. Continue and customize the Unavailable Description and Reminder Content as needed.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Expand the Link To EMR bar.
  8. Click on the selector button on the right side as shown.  A window displaying the appointment type in the EMR should be visible.  Select the Video Call appointment type created in the Prerequisite section.  A corresponding ID number will appear in the External ID field.
  9. Click Save.


Assign Video Call to Provider Schedule:

  1. Go back to Settings, Schedule, provider_name, and expand the Appointment Types & Rules bar.
  2. The new Video Call appointment type will be listed.  Click on Enable.
  3. Repeat Steps 1 & 2 for every provider schedule that will use this service.


Conclusion:

The setup in this document is designed to enable the Video Call appointment type when booked in the EMR. To allow V-Booking, you must enable the appropriate Audience, Booking Rules, and Availability Templates. To permit patients to self-book this virtual appointment request, please follow the same procedure in E-Booking.


One final note, we highly recommend that you leave some free time in your calendar just prior to Video Call appointments to allow for on-time arrival.