Telehealth / Telemedicine

Woman using telehealth on a laptop

Golden Isles Center for Plastic Surgery offers Virtual consultation appointments.

We understand that these are uncertain times, but we are here to help. Dr. Diane Bowen is available to provide consultative services and more. If you don’t feel comfortable coming to our office, don’t worry, because also offer virtual telemedicine appointments that can be conducted from the comfort of your own home.

We utilize a program that is safe and secure for our patients.

  • There is no download required
  • It is HIPAA and HITECH compliant
  • It is Accessible from everywhere- can be used with your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone

Call our office to set up an appointment: (912) 634-1993

Tips for assuring a good experience

It can be frustrating when your system isn’t working correctly during a video call. Here are some tips that can improve your experience:

  1. Make sure your browser is up-to-date
    Go to your browser and be sure that it has been updated. Having an old version can cause conflicts with the telehealth software.
  2. Make sure you restart your computer before begining the call
    Restarting is always a good idea. It can stop any programs running in the background or shut down items you may have forgotten you opened. It will start you off with a clean slate.
  3. Be sure that your internet connection can handle a video call.
    Fast internet will give you better video quality. The best way to make a video call is to use a hard-wired ethernet cable and connect directly into the wall, instead of using wifi. However, if your wifi speed is fast, you should be fine.
  4. Make sure your computer is fast enough.
    Older computers can’t process information as quickly, which can lead to a choppy video experience. Make sure your computer has the processing power to handle video.
  5. Adjusting the resolution of your video.
    If you are experience poor quality, try lowering the resolution. This will enable your computer to use less bandwidth and computing power, resulting in less choppiness during your call.
  6. Use headphones or ear buds.
    Typically your computer will automatically eliminate echo or audio feedback so you don’t hear yourself talking. But if it happens, have the participant and yourself use headphones. Headphones also reduce your background noise so that Dr. Bowen can hear you more easily.

Telemedicine FAQs

Telemedicine is the use of a computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone to provide real-time health care to patients virtually, at a distance.

It is very convenient in that it is accessible from everywhere! Meaning you can use your computer, tablet or smartphone. When you make your telemedicine appointment a link will be sent to you to test your equipment to ensure a virtual visit is compatible. One hour prior to your appointment a link to your appointment will be sent to you. When it is time for your appointment you will click on the link and allow the use of audio, video and microphone for your computer when promoted. You will then be virtually “face-to-face” with Dr. Bowen.

Telemedicine has many applications in healthcare. Golden Isles Center for Plastic Surgery will be utilizing it to conduct both surgical and non- surgical consultations.

Some examples include but are not limited to:

  • a suspicious mole or lesion on your skin that you would like to have checked in order to determine if you need to have it removed.
  • discussing rejuvenation treatment options both surgical and non-surgical that best fit your specific needs.
  • reviewing any lab work you might have had.

The options are endless. Even if you don’t see an option that fits your needs give us a call so we can help you determine if your appointment can be fulfilled virtually.

If your telemedicine appointment is to discuss a service that will be covered under insurance than your insurance carrier can be billed for that appointment.  For example, Skin lesion, breast reduction consultation, or eyelid surgery that meets insurance criteria.

If your appointment is for a cosmetic based service for example, Breast augmentation, tummy tuck or liposuction consultations then the charge for your telemedicine appointment is $75.

Yes.
The platform that we use takes the following safety measures to ensure your privacy is protected:

  • Patient health information (PHI) is not stored, as a result this data cannot be stolen
  • Point-to-point NIST-approved AES 128 bit encryption is used for all video & audio communication
  • HIPAA and HITECH compliant servers to read more about what is HIPAA and HITECH compliance https://www.hipaajournal.com/hitech-compliance/
  • OSSEC intrusion detection, file integrity monitoring, log monitoring, root check, and process monitoring
  • Annual HIPAA risk assessments conducted
  • Auditing, logging, backup and disaster recovery policies and procedures in place