Telehealth Safety for Older Adults and Families

Before the visit

Charge the phone or tablet. Connect to the home Wi-Fi you trust, using the checks on the Wi-Fi page if the signal is weak. Set the device on a table so your hands are free. Increase the volume, and increase text size if the waiting-room screen is hard to read.

Open the visit from the clinic's app, a bookmark you made earlier, or the instructions in the appointment reminder you were expecting. If a new text arrives from an unknown sender with a link, do not use it. Call the clinic on the number already saved in the phone.

During the visit

You should be able to see or hear the clinician, or see a waiting room that matches the clinic's name. If a stranger asks you to install remote-access software before the doctor appears, stop. Clinical visits sometimes use a patient portal. They do not begin with a gift card or a demand that you keep the visit secret from family.

If a family member is helping, decide that before the visit. They can sit beside you or join only if you and the clinic agree. Secret watching is not something RingMyTech sets up.

Messages that pretend to be the clinic

Unexpected texts about unpaid bills, replacement Medicare cards, or "free" equipment are a common impersonation pattern. Medicare publishes guidance for reporting fraud and abuse. Do not give a Medicare number to an unexpected caller. Do not pay a clinic bill by gift card.

If you already clicked a link or entered a password, use what to do after a suspicious link. If a Medicare number was shared with a stranger, start with Medicare's reporting page and IdentityTheft.gov. RingMyTech can help you open those official pages. We do not file them as your representative.

After the visit

Write down how you joined, in one sentence, so the next visit is easier. Save the clinic number. If the video failed because of sound or Wi-Fi, that is a technology task we can practice before the next appointment. It is not a reason to avoid care.