Telehealth consent

01What telehealth means at theSleepMD

Telehealth is healthcare delivered using technology when you and your clinician are not in the same place. At theSleepMD, it may include:

• Live video visits with a sleep physician or another licensed clinician.
• Phone calls, when video isn't possible or isn't needed.
• Secure messages, photos, and documents you exchange with your care team in the patient dashboard or the app.
• Your clinician's review of information you send between visits — such as questionnaire answers, home sleep test results, and readings from your device.

02How a video visit works

We text you a link to join, and it also appears in your dashboard and the app. Visits run on a secure video platform built for healthcare, and you can join from a phone, tablet, or computer with a camera, a microphone, and an internet connection. The link opens 15 minutes before your visit.

At the start of a visit, your clinician may confirm your identity and ask where you are. Please join from a private, well-lit place where you can talk freely, and keep your phone nearby in case the video connection drops.

03Possible benefits

Telehealth can make care easier to fit into your life. Benefits may include:

• Seeing a sleep specialist without traveling, taking extra time off work, or sitting in a waiting room.
• Faster access to diagnosis and treatment, including home sleep testing instead of an overnight stay in a lab.
• Easier follow-up and adjustments to your treatment.
• The option to include a family member or caregiver in your visit, if you wish.

04Risks and limitations

Like any form of care, telehealth has risks. They include:

• Your clinician can't perform a hands-on physical exam, and poor video or sound can make it harder to assess you. Your clinician may decide you need an in-person visit, a test, or a referral before making a diagnosis or prescribing.
• Technology problems — a dropped connection, a device that doesn't work, or a power outage — may delay or interrupt your visit.
• Although we use encrypted systems that meet HIPAA requirements, no technology is completely secure, and there is a small risk that information could be intercepted or accessed without permission.
• In rare cases, the information shared may not be enough for your clinician to make an appropriate decision about your care.

Telehealth does not guarantee any particular result, diagnosis, or prescription.

05Where you are matters

Our clinicians can treat you only in states where they are licensed. You must be physically located in one of those states at the time of every telehealth visit, and you agree to tell us your correct location. We can't provide telehealth care while you are outside the United States.

If you are traveling or have moved, tell us before your visit, so we can match you with a clinician licensed where you are or reschedule.

06Prescriptions through telehealth

Your clinician may prescribe medication after a telehealth visit when it is medically appropriate and allowed by law. Some medications — including controlled substances, such as certain sleep medications — can be prescribed by telehealth only under specific federal and state rules, which may require an in-person exam, an existing relationship with the clinician, or ongoing monitoring.

07Your records, recordings, and visit notes

Your telehealth visits become part of your medical record, just like office visits, and are protected in the same way.

We don't keep a video or audio recording of your visit unless we ask first and you agree. Some clinicians use an assistant built into our video platform that processes the conversation to help draft the visit note; your clinician reviews every note and is responsible for it. You can ask your clinician not to use the assistant.

Please don't record a visit yourself without first telling your clinician.

08Privacy and security

We protect your telehealth visits and messages with the same safeguards we use for all your health information, as our Privacy Policy describes. The platforms we use are encrypted and covered by business associate agreements where HIPAA requires them.

You can help protect your privacy by joining from a private place, using your own device and a secure internet connection, and not sharing your visit link or sign-in codes.

Read our privacy policy

09Emergencies

Telehealth is not for emergencies. If you have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. If you are thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988.

If an emergency happens during a visit, your clinician may call 911 for you at the location you gave us. If the connection drops, your clinician will try to reach you at the phone number on your account.

10Patients under 18

For a patient under 18, a parent or legal guardian must give this consent and should be present at the start of each visit, unless state law allows the minor to consent to that care on their own.

11Costs and insurance

Telehealth visits are billed the same way as office visits. Many health plans cover telehealth, but coverage varies, and you are responsible for any amount your plan doesn't pay. We show you program fees before you pay.

12Your rights

When you receive care by telehealth, you have the right to:

• Refuse telehealth, or stop a telehealth visit at any time, without losing your right to future care from us.
• Ask for an in-person visit at one of our offices instead, where one is available to you.
• Have the same access to your records, and the same privacy protections, as with in-person care.
• Ask questions about this consent and get a copy of it.
• Withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us. Withdrawing it doesn't affect care you have already received.

13Your consent

By checking the telehealth box when you create your account or book care, you confirm that you have read and understood this information, that you have had the chance to ask questions, and that you consent to receive care from theSleepMD through telehealth. Your consent stays in effect for your care with us until you withdraw it.

14Contact us

Questions about telehealth, or want to withdraw your consent? Reach us: