The COVID-19 pandemic has quickly driven healthcare into a new, virtual world. Though telemedicine has been around for years, it has recently become much more popular due to the pandemic. Telehealth visits facilitate convenient and safe connection with your healthcare provider to obtain the required consultation and treatment without leaving your home.
Virtual visits provide numerous benefits, such as convenience, safety, and shorter wait times. Overall, telehealth is an excellent option for patients to access healthcare, both for urgent care and routine primary care, even during non-pandemic times.
Virtual urgent care visits allow you to schedule 1-on-1 video consultation with a healthcare provider and get immediate medical assistance. During a virtual visit, our Family Care Centers’ healthcare provider will go through your relevant medical history and may ask you to record your vitals like your temperature, weight, and blood pressure depending on the medical equipment available to you. You will be asked about your symptoms to better understand your health condition and assess the appropriate treatment plan. It will also be determined if your situation requires an in-person office visit to properly diagnose your condition.
Once the virtual urgent care visit ends, our staff will provide an after care summary and may also provide a prescription if required.
You can have a virtual visit with our provider with your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer without the need to download any special app. Just make sure your device has a camera, a microphone, and a high-speed internet connection.
A virtual visit offers these substantial benefits:
Virtual visits can save your time by greatly reducing office wait times as well as the commute time spent to reach the office. When it is time for your appointment, you will receive a link with instructions through a text or email to join the video visit. You need to click on the link, enter your information, and join the session. The length of the virtual visit is usually about 15 minutes, depending on your healthcare requirements.
Virtual visits or telehealth visits can be conducted from any place—home, hotel room, office, etc. All you will need is a quiet place for a few minutes that allows you to talk, see and listen to your provider on the video call.
Virtual visits are especially a great alternative for patients living in rural areas, where they don’t have easy access to healthcare services. In rural areas, virtual visits allow easy access to medical care without traveling a long distance.
In today’s fast-paced world, convenience is key, and this is one of the primary benefits of a virtual health care visit. If you’re sick and don’t feel up to leaving your home, an easy-to-schedule and quick-to-connect video chat with your provider is very appealing. Virtual visits also add a great deal of convenience when you can’t take time off work or school to visit your provider for a minor health consultation.
With virtual urgent care visits, you never have to worry about getting safe access to necessary healthcare services, even during times of an epidemic or pandemic. We all have seen how efficiently and effectively virtual healthcare options have been utilized, making it easy for people to obtain medical care without risk of exposure.
Although most urgent care centers charge equally for a virtual visit and an in-person visit, you still get some level of affordability with virtual visit options. By gaining access to healthcare from your home, you can eliminate the time and money associated with travel. Also, like regular in-office urgent care visits, your video visit is also covered by most insurance plans.
Although virtual visits provide many benefits, an in-person visit at one of our urgent care centers in Irvine, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa may be necessary for some conditions. For severe health conditions and life-threatening injuries, the Emergency Room is usually the best option.
Dr. Bunten is originally from Huntington Beach, CA. He attended high school in Tokyo, Japan, went to college at UC San Diego and then to medical school in the Midwest. He returned home to California for residency training in Family Medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. His immediate family all reside in Huntington Beach.
Dr Fishbein has been in the practice of family medicine for over 35 years in Irvine. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University, medical degree from Chicago Medical School, and completed his family medicine residency at Memorial Hospital of Long Beach.
Dr. Kim is the Medical Director of Family Care Centers, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Hoag Hospital, and a recipient of the Physicians of Excellence award from the Orange County Medical Association. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, and has been practicing in our community for over 20 years.
Dr. Memon is a board certified Family Medicine physician and recently completed her fellowship in Geriatrics at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. She attended Saint George’s University, School of Medicine and completed her residency at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Her interest in medicine started at an early age and has since evolved into a passionate career.
Dr. Gina Nguyen obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Irvine where she graduated Suma Cum Laude. She went to USC Keck School of Medicine, and returned to UC Irvine for a Family Medicine Residency. Since 2005, she worked at Kaiser Permanente, VNCOC, and Family Care Center Urgent Care.
Dr. Williams is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. He is a native to Orange County and returned home after completing his medical degree at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. After completing his residency in family practice he successfully completed a fellowship in sports medicine.
Dr. Hye Lee is a board-certified Family Practice Physician, affiliated with the American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Practice.She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Riverside and earned her medical degree from Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. Afterward, she did her internship at Downey Regional Medical Center in California and has been a primary care physician since 2005.
Dr. Coyne is a board certified family practice physician and a California native. He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA before earning his medical degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr Coyne spent 6 years in the US Air Force at Andrews and Luke Air Force bases, eventually separating as a Major. He enjoys working with patients of all ages.”
Dr. Jay Friehling is a Family Practice physician who has worked in Orange County since 1981. Born in Florida, he received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and then earned a Medical Degree at the New York Medical College.” His healthcare interests include Diabetes, Geriatric Care, and Hospice Care.
Dr. Jennifer Shoquist is board certified in Family Medicine. Her special interest is woman’s health and her practice accepts patients from 6 years old to seniors. Dr. Shoquist received her M.D. degree at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston in Houston, Texas, and did her residency with Memorial Family Practice at memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Tom is a board certified family medicine physician and native Californian. He received his bachelors of science with great distinction in biochemistry and honors in chemistry. Dr. Tom was awarded a Regents Scholarship to attend medical school at UC Irvine.
Dr. Yan attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her Family Practice residency at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. She joined Family Care Center in 2001. She chose Family Practice because she enjoys working with a wide variety of people and because it provides a unique opportunity for continuing care.
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