Telehealth Visits

Telehealth is here!  Our office is now providing telehealth visits through the Doxy.me interface!  You can schedule a secure, HIPAA-compliant live video appointment (“telehealth visit”) with Dr. Sato or Dr. Kimura that can be done from the comfort of your own home by using your smartphone or the webcam on your home computer.  We can do telehealth visits for many types of sick visits (not well visits) by appointment only for existing patients (new patients must been seen for a regular in-office appointment first to be eligible for telehealth visits).  You can schedule a telehealth visit for your child by calling our office at 916-421-8245 as you would for a regular appointment.  If a telehealth visit is appropriate, our staff will help you schedule one.  We will also continue to have in-office appointments available for well child care and sick visits.  We are using the Doxy.me platform for telehealth visits.  Doxy.me works through your internet browser (i.e. Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Samsung) and does not require downloading any special apps.  For more information on how Doxy.me works, you can visit https://doxy.me/patients. For more information on our office Telehealth appointments, read below.  If your child already has a scheduled telehealth appointment with Dr. Sato or Dr. Kimura, click here for instructions on how to start your visit.  Quick link to our waiting room: https://satokimurapeds.doxy.me/waitingroom

Telehealth FAQ
How do I schedule a telehealth visit for my child?
What kinds of problems can be taken care of through a telehealth visit?
I called the office and scheduled a telehealth visit for my child.  What do I do now?
I have a photo on my phone/computer of my child’s rash (or pink eye or other problem).  Can I send it to you securely during my telehealth visit?
Troubleshooting and Call Tips

How do I schedule a telehealth visit for my child?  You can schedule a telehealth visit for your child by calling our office as you would for a regular appointment.  Our staff and doctors will determine if a telehealth visit is appropriate (see next question below) and help you schedule one.

What kinds of problems can be taken care of through a telehealth visit?  Many types of problems can be diagnosed and managed by our doctors via telehealth (some common examples include rashes or skin problems, cold symptoms, pink eye, constipation or diarrhea, etc.) but some cannot, particularly if it would require the doctor to perform a “hands-on” exam such as looking into the ears or listening to the heart or lungs.  Our office staff and doctors will help you determine whether your child’s issue is one that would be appropriate for a telehealth visit when you call our office.  In some cases, your child may need to come into the office briefly following a telehealth visit if they need testing (i.e. a throat swab for Strep, a urine test, etc.) or if the doctor determines she needs to perform a more thorough exam that cannot be accomplished through a video visit.  Also, if your child is very ill and needs emergency care, do not wait to do a telehealth visit!  Seek emergency care right away by calling 911 or going to the nearest emergency room if your child has a life-threatening problem. 

I called the office and scheduled a telehealth visit for my child.  What do I do now?

1. Pick a good spot in your house for the telehealth visit to occur.  This should be a private room or place where your child’s private health information will not be overheard by outsiders and is free of distractions and noise as much as possible to enable you and the doctor to hear each other.  Good lighting is also very helpful so the doctor can see your child well.  Please do not attempt to do a telehealth visit from a public place such as a restaurant, park, or a moving vehicle. 
2. Call our office at our regular phone number (916-421-8245) 5 to 15 minutes prior to your telehealth appointment time.  On the phone, our staff will check you in as you would for a regular in-office visit, including making sure we have your current insurance information, collecting any applicable co-pays (i.e. credit card information), and obtaining a brief history of the issue your child is being seen for today.
• Please have the following information ready BEFORE your child’s telehealth visit.  The staff will ask you for the following information:
• Your child’s current temperature, taken with a thermometer.
• Your child’s weight. 
• A phone number where you can be immediately called if the video connection is lost or dropped. 
• Please remember that a legally authorized adult must accompany your child and be present during the telehealth visit.  Legally authorized adults are people listed by a child’s parent or guardian on their demographics sheet already on file with our office.
3. When the staff tells you, use your home computer with a camera/microphone OR your smartphone to check in to our doxy.me office telehealth waiting room at https://satokimurapeds.doxy.me/waitingroom.  The internet browsers Chrome, Firefox, or Safari are preferred (Microsoft Edge and Samsung also work).  Open the browser on your device and enter the web address https://satokimurapeds.doxy.me/waitingroom.  You do not need to download any special apps.  For a visual PDF file on how to enter our doxy.me Waiting Room, click here. Otherwise, the steps are listed below.
4. When prompted, allow your browser to use your webcam and microphone.
5. Type in your child’s first and last name and click “Check In.”
6. Wait for one of the doctors to start your child’s visit. 
7. At the beginning of the visit, the doctor will review with you what a telehealth visit is, as well as the risks, benefits, and alternatives to a telehealth visit and the doctor will document your verbal consent in the medical record for the visit.  Normally, you would need to electronically sign a consent form agreeing to the telehealth visit before the doctor can proceed with seeing your child, but the federal government and state of California have temporarily waived the consent requirements for telehealth visits during the COVID-19 crisis.  Our telehealth consent form is located here and will be required for telehealth visits after the COVID-19 crisis waivers have expired. 
8. During the telehealth visit, the doctor will ask you (the parent or authorized adult) to assist her in examining your child.  This may include lifting your child’s shirt so the doctor can see the chest to check for signs of trouble breathing; positioning your child so the doctor can see certain areas of the body on the video feed, such as a close-up of your child’s face, mouth, eyes, skin, etc.; and/or putting your child next to the microphone on your device so their breathing can be heard.  If you have a photo of your child’s problem (i.e. a rash, an eye problem, sores or redness inside your child’s mouth/throat), please let the doctor know and we will have you send us the photo electronically through the doxy.me interface so the doctor can see it. 

I have a photo on my phone/computer of my child’s rash (or pink eye or other problem).  Can I send it to you securely during my telehealth visit?
Yes!  Doxy.me has the ability for files (including photos) to be transferred back and forth between doctor and patient.  If you have a file or photo to send us, please let the doctor know and she will tell you how to do it during your visit.  Photos can often be very helpful and help the doctor see detail that may be blurry on the video feed, especially if your internet connection is weak.  If you can take a photo of your child’s rash or other problem, we encourage you to do so and have it ready for your visit.

Troubleshooting and Call Tips

• Make sure you have a strong internet connection.  Use strong WiFi or an ethernet cable. If your connection is weak, reduce the number of devices using the internet at your house during the telehealth visit.  If someone is streaming or downloading something at the same time it might use up bandwidth and cause the video to be blurry or fade in and out.  Also, you should not try to do a telemedicine visit from a moving vehicle for safety reasons. 
• Restart your device before the visit.  This fixes most problems.
• Test your camera and microphone by clicking the blue “Pre-call Test” buttonin the bottom left corner while in the doxy.me waiting room, or by clicking this link here: https://doxy.me/precall-test/
• Make sure your internet browser is updated to the most recent version.
• Visit the doxy.me troubleshooting tips page for additional tips:  https://help.doxy.me/en/collections/1359402-troubleshooting

Still have questions?  Give our office a call or send us a message (non-urgent questions) via the Patient Portal.  We look forward to seeing your child through our new telemedicine interface!