Virtual Care FAQs

A Video Visit is a scheduled appointment with your health care provider where you connect via the MyUofMHealth Patient Portal. You will be able to see, hear, and speak to your provider and they will be able to see, hear, and speak to you, similar to the experience you might get using Apple FaceTime or Skype calls.

Your visit will be just as thorough and personalized as a traditional clinic visit, but without a trip to one of our hospitals or health centers.

Standard Video Visits are scheduled in advance directly through a specific U-M Health clinic. Though video visits are covered by many insurance policies, there are still some insurance policies that do not cover video visits for patients at home. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to confirm your insurance coverage.

Video Visits use your MyUofMHealth Patient Portal account to connect and are fully secure, confidential, and compliant with all medical privacy laws. U-M Health uses technology that complies with privacy and security laws and regulations. You should be in a private place when you have your Video Visit so that others near you cannot hear you. You should use a private network to connect to your Video Visit. For more information, see these Privacy and Security Tips from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Many appointments for non-emergency care or care that doesn’t require an in-person physical exam can be done through a Video Visit. Ask your University of Michigan Health provider if the appointment can be done through a Video Visit.

Though Video Visits are covered by many insurance policies, there are still some insurance policies that do not cover Video Visits for patients at home. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to confirm your insurance coverage.

How to confirm coverage:

Confirm the type of provider you are scheduled for your visit. Then, confirm the reason for your visit with the representative (there may be carve outs for certain types of visits, such as behavioral health visits, under certain plans.) Confirm whether it may be within a global period following a procedure. Ask if you are covered for a live two-way audiovisual communication between the provider and patient when the patient is located at home. Please stress with the representative that you will be at home for the video visit.

If it is NOT a covered benefit:

If your insurance does not offer Video Visits as a covered benefit, you may be eligible for an uninsured patient discount for the Video Visit. Call Patient Financial Services at 1-855-855-0863 once you receive your bill for the service.

If it IS a covered benefit:

If you have coverage, then your plan should process Video Visits the same as a face-to-face visit and assign copay, coinsurance and/or deductible based on your plan benefits. Covered benefits are not eligible for the uninsured discount.

Video Visits offer a convenient opportunity to connect to your University of Michigan Health provider without having to travel to a hospital or health center. Video Visits are fully secure and offer the same high-quality care that you would expect from an in-person visit, without requiring you to leave your home or office.

• You and your provider won’t be in the same room, so it may feel different than an office visit.
• Your provider may not be able to pick up conditions that might be found during a complete physical exam.
• Your provider may decide you still need an office visit.
• Technical problems may interrupt or stop your visit before you are done.

The length of Video Visit appointments varies based on your appointment type, but are often scheduled for the same period of time as an in-person visit. What happens during a Video Visit will vary, but the visit will be very similar to an in-person visit with the exception that the provider will not be able to do any exam requiring physical touch. You will have plenty of time for your provider to understand your needs and answer any questions you have.

Yes. An interpreter can be scheduled by the clinic when you schedule your Video Visit appointment. Patients will connect to the Video Visit through the MyUofMHealth Patient Portal prior to being connected to the interpreter.

Just like an in-person visit it may be that your doctor or health care provider is tied up with other patients and running behind schedule. We ask that you remain patient and in the virtual waiting room until your provider connects. If it appears that your provider is exceptionally late to the Video Visit, please contact the clinic number associated with your appointment and explain that you are trying to connect to a Video Visit and that your provider has not yet connected. We do ask that doctors and other health care providers offering Video Visits have a system in place to reach out to patients to let them know if a provider is running behind schedule.

A smartphone or tablet with the latest version of the MyUofMHealth mobile app and the Zoom Cloud meetings mobile app downloaded is recommended for your Video Visit. Do not use the browser on your smartphone or tablet. You can also use a computer or laptop with a microphone and camera and the Zoom app installed.

You do not need to be tech savvy to conduct a Video Visit. The technology has been designed so that anyone can use it. If you are having trouble, please ask for help! Many of our patients will ask family members to help them conduct the visit. Support staff is also available to assist you. If you need help with your MyUofMHealth mobile app, please call 734-615-0872 to speak with a patient portal representative. 

We try to prevent technical issues by asking patients to test their connection and set-up in advance of the visit, but still there may be times where technical issues occur. If you are having technical issues, there are a few basic steps you can take to see if you can fix the issue. 

You may wish to invite additional family members, foster parents or caregivers to join your Video Visit. There are two ways you can invite a participant to your Video Visit

1. In your MyUofMHealth Patient Portal account before your visit:

• Select your appointment in your MyUofMHealth Patient Portal
• Under “Manage who will participate in this video visit” select “View and Invite Participants”
• Select “Invite a New Guest” and again, select “Invite a New Guest”
• Complete the form and send the invitation using the button at the bottom of the form
• Your guest will receive either an email or text message with the link to the visit, depending on your selection. Please remind them to download the Zoom app in advance and not to hit the link before the visit time.

Please note that if a visit is rescheduled or changed, you will need to re-send the invitation(s).

  
2. Within Zoom, once you have started your video visit:
 

• Click the “Participants” icon at the bottom of the Zoom wind.
• Click “Invite” at the bottom of the Participants pan.
• Click “Copy Invite Link” in the lower left-hand side of the Invite People to Join Meeting window.
• You can now paste the link in a text message to those who you would like to join the Video Visit if using a smartphone or tablet, or send an email if using a computer or laptop.
• The additional participant(s) can join the Video Visit by clicking the link. They will be entered into the waiting room.
• Let your provider know you have invited an additional participant to the visit. The provider will then admit your requested participant to the Video Visit.

You may request an E-Visit anytime day or night—seven days a week. You will receive a response within 3 business days.

You will not be charged for the E-Visit if the University of Michigan Health provider determines that an E-Visit is not appropriate for your condition. They will direct you to schedule an in-person appointment instead.

No, a University of Michigan Health provider will send you a written treatment plan via your MyUofMHealth patient portal.

A written treatment plan is a unique message sent from a University of Michigan Health provider to your MyUofMHealth patient portal. A written treatment plan may include:         

• Advice on how to treat your common, non-urgent health condition at home
• Prescriptions (as needed)
• Recommendations to avoid public settings like work or school (as needed)
• Suggestions for medications that do not need to be prescribed (as needed)

You will receive a prescription if the University of Michigan Health providers finds that it is medically necessary. Sometimes, it may be suggested that you take a medication that does not need to be prescribed.

You will select which pharmacy you would like your prescription to be sent when you complete the E-Visit.

The only E-Visits that will appear in your patient portal are those you are eligible for. If you do not see an E-Visit option for the condition you are looking for it may be because you are not eligible to submit for that condition. Some Specialty Care E-Visits are never available as an option to select on your own. These must be sent to you from your health care provider and will be visible from your patient portal home screen on the date they have requested that you complete it. If your health care provider requested that you complete an E-Visit and you do not see it on your patient portal home screen or in the list of E-Visit conditions, please call your health care provider.     

Visit the MyUofMHealth webpage for more information about the MyUofMHealth Patient Portal, including FAQs.

For technical issues please email [email protected] or call (734) 615-0872 during business hours, to speak with a patient portal representative.

• Activate your MyUofMHealth patient portal account at www.myuofmhealth.org
• On your smartphone or tablet, search “MyUofMHealth” in either the Apple iTunes Store or the Google Play Store.
  • Tip 1: Look for a blue folder with a maize M.
  • Tip 2: For Apple iPads, when searching for “MyUofMHealth,” make sure you are looking for iPhone apps and not iPad only.
• Sync your MyUofMHealth Patient Portal mobile app with your MyUofMHealth patient portal account.

If you have trouble downloading the MyUofMHealth Patient Portal mobile app, please email [email protected] or call (734) 615-0872 during business hours, to speak with a patient portal representative.

Information on initiating a request for a proxy account

Information on how an adolescent can request their own account