What Happened When I Tried Telehealth for Chronic Hives Care

A few years ago, in the “before times,” telehealth was not an option I knew much about, let alone ever considered for my own doctors' appointments. COVID-19 changed that!

Since 2020, I have become much more aware of telehealth and have a better understanding of the many reasons someone might opt for this kind of appointment. But for me, I still preferred to go see my doctors in person. I live in a city where all my doctors are within walking distance from my home. I never considered alternatives.

Opting for telehealth with my allergy doctor

A while back, I confessed that I was avoiding my doctor and dragging my feet at rescheduling a missed follow-up appointment. So what motivated me to make the darn appointment? A change in my health insurance. That’s right – there’s nothing like a big increase in your co-pay to kick your butt into action before those rates increase!

When I learned that my co-pay to see the allergy doctor was increasing from $25 to $60, I was highly motivated to make an appointment before the plan changed. I didn’t have a lot of time to squeeze the appointment in. All this happened around the holidays, and the doctor’s holiday vacation time, plus my own plans, made scheduling an in-person visit quite tricky. That’s when I realized that a telehealth appointment would be the easiest option.

Preparing for my appointment

It was super easy to make the appointment. I got clear information via email instructing me what to do and how to log in for my appointment. The morning of, someone from the allergy office called me to confirm my insurance, collect the co-pay, and do the typical intake questions I would have otherwise done in the office.

For me, the co-pay cost for telehealth was the same as an in-office appointment.

Feeling at ease during the appointment

It was a strange feeling at first – video chatting with my doctor over the computer. But I realized I felt more at ease than I typically do in the allergy office. I was sitting at my own desk, in my own home. I was not surrounded by medical posters and sterile-looking equipment, and other not-so-warm-and-fuzzy things that we so often see at the doctor's office.

Taking notes - a first for me!

Typically, I don’t take notes during my doctor's appointments. But being at home and on a computer, taking notes felt more natural to do. We talked about my experiences with Pepcid and Singulair, and then the doctor explained what drugs we would try next.

He explained the order I would try them and under what circumstances I would take them. I found myself writing all of this information down. Immediately after the appointment, I came to this site to search and see if any others have shared their experiences with these drugs. I wouldn’t have done that if I had gone in person, but being at my computer was a natural lead-in to me being more proactive about educating myself.

Will I stick with telehealth?

Even though going the telehealth route doesn't lessen my co-pay increase for future chronic hive appointments, the answer is yes! I am still so surprised by how efficient and easy the whole process was. I can’t believe I didn’t try it sooner. Overall, telehealth for my chronic hives care was a great experience.

Have you ever tried telehealth for your chronic hives care? What did you think of the experience? Share in the comments below!