Waiting Room or Chat Room: When to Choose Telehealth Over a Traditional Doctor Visit

Sep 9, 2024 | Family

In recent years, telehealth has emerged as a convenient and effective alternative to traditional in-person medical consultations. With advancements in technology and growing acceptance from both patients and healthcare providers, it’s important to understand when telehealth is a suitable option and when a traditional doctor visit is necessary.

To help guide you and your family’s decision making about whether telehealth care is right for you, we’ve gathered advice from healthcare experts in the field. We’re honored to bring you the fast, reliable internet you need with download and upload speeds that can support telehealth services when you need them most!

The Essentials of Telehealth

At its most basic, telehealth involves using digital platforms such as video conference calls or online chat-and-text messaging to consult with healthcare providers. Like brick-and-mortar medical offices, telehealth providers can include physicians with medical degrees, trained and experienced physician assistants, registered nurses, and many other healthcare practitioners.

Telehealth offers several benefits to patients, including:

• Convenience: Access to healthcare from the comfort of your home, avoiding travel and long waits (and reducing risk of catching or spreading contagious illnesses);
• Accessibility: Reach specialists who may not be available locally; and
• Cost-Effectiveness: Often less expensive than in-person visits.

When to Choose Telehealth

Given the above advantages, many patients might be ready to switch to telehealth immediately! That said, some health issues are more amenable to telehealth than others, while other conditions likely require an in-person visit.

The following four common healthcare needs are tailor-made for telehealth:

1. Minor Health Concerns: For non-urgent issues such as mild allergies, colds, or skin conditions, telehealth provides a quick way to receive advice and prescriptions. If the symptoms are straightforward and not severe, a telehealth consultation can save time and avoid unnecessary exposure to other patients in a waiting room.
2. Routine Follow-Ups and Chronic Disease Management: Telehealth is ideal for managing chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, or hypertension. Regular follow-up appointments can often be conducted virtually, where doctors can monitor your progress and adjust your medication without requiring you to come in.
3. Medication Refills: If you need a prescription refill or have a question about your medication, telehealth can facilitate these needs efficiently. Telehealth providers can review your medication history and provide prescriptions or adjustments without requiring a physical exam.
4. Mental Health Services: Mental health consultations, including therapy and counseling, can be effectively managed through telehealth. The virtual format can offer a level of comfort and privacy that helps patients discuss sensitive issues more openly.

When to Opt for an In-Person Doctor Visit

Despite the convenience of a telehealth visit, there are still plenty of circumstances where an in-person, face-to-face medical consultation is recommended. And plenty of health professionals will even require an office visit over a telehealth session for certain conditions such as the following:

1. Severe or Acute Symptoms: If you’re experiencing severe pain, sudden changes in health, or acute symptoms such as chest pain or difficulty breathing, an in-person visit is crucial. Physical examinations, diagnostic tests, and immediate interventions are often required in such cases, and telehealth just can’t meet those needs.
2. Diagnostic Testing: Certain conditions necessitate diagnostic tests that can only be performed in person, such as blood tests, imaging (X-rays, MRIs), or physical examinations that involve palpation or other hands-on techniques.
3. Complex or Unclear Medical Issues: When symptoms are complex or do not fit a clear pattern, many doctors will require an in-person visit and a more comprehensive evaluation. Physical exams and direct observation can be critical in diagnosing and managing multifaceted health issues.
4. Initial Consultations and Second Opinions: For initial consultations or when seeking a second opinion, an in-person visit can provide a more thorough examination and allow for a deeper discussion about your health history, concerns, and treatment options.

Why Telehealth Patients Need Fiber Internet

Once you've decided that a telehealth appointment is the right choice for your healthcare needs, it's crucial to ensure that your internet can support the technology. This is where FPUAnet Communications' fiber internet comes into play.

Unlike older internet technologies such as cable, DSL, or satellite, fiber internet boasts exceptional performance that is crucial for effective telehealth consultations. Here’s why:

1. Blazing Fast Speeds
   Fiber-optic internet provides download speeds that can exceed 1 gigabit per second. This high-speed connectivity ensures that your telehealth video streams smoothly without interruptions, allowing for a continuous and clear consultation with your healthcare provider.
2. Outstanding Upload Speeds
   In addition to impressive download speeds, fiber internet also offers superior upload speeds. This is essential for sending high-quality video and audio data to your provider, enabling them to see and hear you clearly without delays or distortions.
3. Generous Bandwidth Capacity
   Fiber internet has a higher bandwidth capacity compared to traditional internet options. This means you can handle multiple devices and applications simultaneously without experiencing a decrease in performance. For telehealth, this translates into high-definition video conferencing with your doctor even while your kids are playing video games or streaming shows in the other room.
4. Reliability and Stability
   Fiber-optic connections are known for their reliability and stability. Unlike cable or DSL, which can be affected by weather conditions or network congestion, fiber internet offers a consistent and dependable connection. This minimizes the risk of dropped calls or connection issues during your telehealth appointment.

Both telehealth and traditional in-person doctor visits have their place in modern healthcare. Telehealth offers a flexible and convenient alternative for routine and manageable health concerns, while in-person visits are indispensable for severe, complex, or diagnostic situations.

Ready to try telehealth? Switch to FPUAnet Communications today for a connection you can rely on.

Plan Your Summer Vacay with These Smart Apps and Sites

Jul 26, 2024 | Family

With the summer vacation season at hand, many families are scratching their heads trying to decide their destination, as well as plan their activities and budget. Should this year’s summer getaway be to a beach resort with sun, sand and surf? Or perhaps a retreat to the cooler, crisper air of the mountains? Maybe this is the year to soak in the culture and ambience of historic cities, or rather to explore scenic national parks and wilderness expanses instead? And what’s the best way to plan all the logistical and budgetary needs of such a trip?

Thankfully, with FPUAnet Communications’ fiber internet, along with practical online travel-related tools, the best advice for travel destinations and activities—and the best deals to be had on them—is at your fingertips! We’ve prepared a list of our favorite online resources, both apps and websites, to help you plan your trip this summer vacation. From deciding where to go, to hunting the best prices for airfare or accommodations, to discovering the best local dining spots, our recommended resources will help you make the most of your well-deserved time off this summer!

1. Lonely Planet—to Help You Determine Where to Go

We begin with Lonely Planet, the venerable travel guide series, which provides exceptional coverage of both basic nuts-and-bolts information for travelers, as well as historical, cultural and other essential background to really understand the people and vibe of a country or city. We recommend Lonely Planet to assist your decision-making both at the front end of your trip (i.e., deciding where to go in the first place) as well as throughout your adventures when discovering off-the-beaten path side excursions and local haunts!

2. Skyscanner—to Find and Compare Flights and Airfares

We next turn to selecting flights. There are several websites and apps to compare airfares and book flights and a few of them are quite excellent. But we particularly like Skyscanner for its features and ease of use, including its “Explore Everywhere” feature, which conveniently lays out destinations and routes around America and the entire world. In this way, Skyscanner not only helps you find airfare deals and connections, but even opens your minds to travel spots you hadn’t yet dreamed of!

​3. Booking.com—to Find and Book Hotel Rooms

Next, we recommend Booking.com to find hotels and compare lodging prices in your chosen destinations. While Booking.com can also help you book flights and other travel needs, its hotel search features stand out, and put it above many similar sites. We’re particularly impressed by its powerful search engine, which scopes out more hotel rooms at more price points (especially midrange prices) than most other online travel agency and aggregator sites do. 

4. Airbnb and Vrbo—to Search Alternative Accommodations and Home/Apartment Stays

Of course, if you’re looking to avoid hotels or just want to stay in private homes or apartments, Airbnb and Vrbo are excellent resources. They can also get you closer to where locals actually live, instead of staying in a large tower of tourists like many hotels (not that there’s anything wrong with pampering yourself in a nice hotel on your summer vacay!). Both apps also feature unique, and even unusual (and memory-making) accommodations, too, such as treehouses and Hobbit holes!

5. TripAdvisor and Yelp—to Discover the Best Local Eateries

It’s impossible to exclude TripAdvisor and Yelp from our list, as they are iconic, even encyclopedic founts of recommendations about dining by both tourists and locals. Seeing the differences between the way locals review an eatery and the way tourists review that same spot can be quite insightful. So, be sure to note who is reviewing and see if you notice any patterns when assessing where to dine out on your vacation. Both TripAdvisor and Yelp are available as apps, both of which have added features the browser-based websites do not.

6. Wanderlog—to Plan Your Dream Itinerary

Finally, once you’ve determined your destination and booked your flights, accommodations and some dinner reservations, put all your hard work into one convenient, accessible place on Wanderlog, a respected trip planning app. Indeed, itinerary lovers will adore this app, as it helps you organize your vacation and its details to your heart's content! You’ll easily plan your routes, including stops for gasoline and food, and incorporate any flight or hotel reservations in one single, customizable space. Wanderlog is available both as a website on a browser or as an app for iPhones and Android-based devices.

Once armed with our handy list of apps and websites, you’ll be well on your way to concocting the best summer vacation you’ve ever had—and far more efficiently, too! And keep connected to FPUAnet Communications’ social pages to learn more ways to make the most of our advanced fiber network!

Simple Tech and Online Safety Tips for Aging Parents

Jul 22, 2024 | Family

While new devices and technology are eagerly welcomed by tech-driven generations, older generations looking to “age in place” or live in senior communities are sometimes wary of or frustrated by tech—and understandably so!

Navigating the web with confidence can allow aging parents to stay more connected with their families and friends across the world, but there are also risks that come with being online. If you’re looking to help your aging parents (or yourself!) navigate the internet as safely as possible, the following tips and devices can help.

Recommended Devices for Elderly People

First, we begin with some recommended phones and tablets for aging parents. In preparing our list, we've prioritized the general ease of the device's interface and overall use, the quality of the audio and calling capabilities, and the text and icon organization and readability, as well as overall value.

Two Suggested Phones for Aging Seniors

We can confidently recommend two easy-to-use phones from Jitterbug: the Jitterbug Flip2 and the Jitterbug Smart4. The Jitterbug Flip2 is among the simplest phones anyone can get today, letting seniors use the Flip2 for basic cell phone uses like voice calls. It also sports a camera, though its photo features are rather limited. The Flip2 includes voice commands for smart home devices like Alexa, making it far better than the flip phones of 25 years ago! But, as it’s not a smartphone, the Flip2 has far fewer bells and whistles that many seniors just don’t use anyway.

For older parents looking for a “real” smartphone, the Jitterbug Smart4 may be an ideal option. We love its basic, text-based interface and easy-on-the-eyes large screen. Shoppers will be hard-pressed to find a smartphone with a more intuitive navigation than the Smart4. It’s also among the cheapest smartphones on the market today, making it even more appealing to budget-conscious seniors. Additionally, the Smart4 offers options to turn on emergency monitoring and other safety features, providing peace of mind to seniors and their families.

Two Tablets for Aging Parents

Next, we turn to tablets, which facilitate essential internet browsing and enhanced communication opportunities like video calling. Two tablets stand out as solid options: the Grandpad and the Amazon Fire HD 8.

Built specifically with seniors in mind, the Grandpad boasts that it’s “the simplest way to connect because you get everything you need and nothing you don't.” Its large icons are easy to locate, and the layout is intuitive to follow. The Grandpad has just about all the features an older person could want in a tablet, including video calling capability, social media apps, photo storage and organization, music and videos, and even games. And as its customer service representatives are available 24/7, seniors can quickly contact Grandpad for help, reducing their reliance on their own children and grandchildren for technical assistance.

Another frequently touted tablet for aging parents is the Amazon Fire HD 8. Though not specifically designed for older people like the Grandpad, Amazon’s tablet is a good fit for many seniors, as it’s a solid combination of manageable size, generous array of apps and programs, forgiving interface, and budget-oriented price. And since it’s an Amazon-related product, it syncs nicely with Alexa for voice commands.

Tips to Make the Internet and Tech Safer for Seniors

Next, we offer some tips and advice for family members concerned about their older loved ones’ online security and safety.  By implementing these simple steps, seniors can enjoy the internet with greater confidence.

Enable Email Forwarding

One simple but effective way to reduce the risk of your elderly parents succumbing to online scams and phishing is to turn on email forwarding from their email accounts to yours. Just by scanning the emails your aging loved ones receive, you can keep an eye out for phishing attempts and similar schemes—and alert aging parents before they fall into cybercriminals’ traps.

Monitoring Banking and Other Financial Accounts

Another tip you can easily employ to safeguard your aging parents online is to keep tabs on their banking and other financial accounts. This includes receiving alerts about account activity on their credit card statements or any other financial account that could be preyed upon by cybercriminals. Staying alert for seemingly strange transactions or debits from unknown merchants or companies can help stave off financial disaster early by quickly reporting the unusual activity, allowing financial services companies to rectify them.

Install Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Software on Elderly Parents’ Devices

While it’s reflexively second nature to most people to install strong anti-virus software on devices that connect to the internet, this seemingly simple step is often overlooked—and not just by the elderly! Some excellent cybersecurity programs offer free versions of their software that may just be sufficient for your aging parents’ needs and risks. Compare the different programs and assess your loved ones’ online safety and security needs. But be sure to install it and enable it on your aging parents’ devices, an essential step too-frequently forgotten—and don’t forget to keep it updated, too!

Run Software and Hardware Security Updates Regularly    

Finally, though you may also forget to check for software and security updates on your own devices, it’s imperative that you regularly check on your aging parents’ operating systems and security program updates! Setting monthly reminders in your own calendar to check on mom’s tablet or smartphone for security updates will help keep them protected from viruses and hackers. Of course, the simplest way to stay on top of updating software is to enable automatic security and software updates, which most such programs do.

At FPUAnet Communications we offer a service called TechShield Support which:

With these simple tips and easy-to-use device recommendations, you and your elderly parents can feel more assured when using FPUAnet Communications’ advanced fiber network. And for more advice on staying safe online, follow FPUAnet Communications’ social pages!

The Best Keyboards

Jul 22, 2024 | Family