IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN TELEPSYCHIATRY AT SILVA PSYCHIATRIC CARE (SPC), YOU WILL NEED AN INTERNET-ENABLED DEVICE, SUCH AS A SMARTPHONE, TABLET, LAPTOP OR DESKTOP COMPUTER, EQUIPPED WITH A WORKING CAMERA AND MICROPHONE. I RECOMMEND USING EITHER A SMARTPHONE OR A TABLET, BECAUSE THESE DEVICES ARE ALWAYS SO EQUIPPED, AND WILL OFFER THE MOST USER-FRIENDLY INTERFACES. YOU WILL ALSO NEED A STRONG AND RELIABLE INTERNET CONNECTION. ANY MODERN BROADBAND CONNECTION WILL WORK; SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS CAN ALSO USE CELLULAR DATA TO CONNECT ONLINE.
You will need a quiet and private place where you will not be overheard by unauthorized third parties and where you are unlikely to be interrupted. Your home is the best place for these visits, but some people with private offices at work find that they can conveniently await their appointments in my virtual (online) "waiting room," while continuing to multi-task at work, making it unnecessary to take time away from their work duties to receive treatment, although after-work and after-school early-evening appointments are also routinely available, as part of SPC's Concierge Medicine Practice Model.
You will receive several reminders in the days leading up to your appointment. Your first reminder will come in the form of an e-mail. If your primary contact telephone number is a cell phone, you will also receive a text message reminder following the initial e-mail reminder.
Forty-eight hours before your appointment, you will receive the actual appointment e-mail, which will contain the active link that you will click to enter a completely private, online waiting room. This confirmation e-mail will contain a unique visit code--each appointment will have its own, unique code, which can never be reused--which you will need in order to access the virtual waiting room. if you cannot find your confirmation e-mail and code, simply notify me at the time of your visit by sending me a text at (432) 692-4525.
If at any time during this process you encounter technical difficulties, simply call or text me at (432) 692-4525, and I will be standing by to provide assistance. Sending a text to let me know that you are having trouble or otherwise running behind is best, as I will receive your message immediately, even though I may be in session with another patient, and unable to take your call at that moment.
NOTE: You will not be able to join the waiting room until 15 minutes before your appointment, on the day of the actual appointment.