Video consultation with a doctor: how to prepare and who pays

How does a video consultation work?

The practice books a time and sends you the access details, usually a link to a secure website or app that you open at the agreed time. In France, the national health insurer Assurance Maladie describes exactly this: the doctor sends the link before the appointment, and you need a computer, tablet or smartphone with a webcam and an internet connection. Your consent is required.

In Germany, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) tells patients to log in about ten minutes early. You do not need to create your own account with the video service. After a short automatic technical check, you wait in an online waiting room until the doctor starts the call. Enter your real name, because the practice uses it to identify you. If the practice does not know you yet, you hold your health insurance card up to the camera.

Video has limits: nobody can examine you by touch, listen to your chest or take blood. Your doctor decides whether your problem can be handled this way and may ask you to come in. If you have warning signs of an emergency, do not wait for a video slot: call for help.

An everyday example

Fictional example: Tom, a British engineer living in Munich, wakes up with a fever and a sore throat. He is insured with a German statutory health fund and has never been to the practice round the corner. The practice offers him a video appointment and sends a link by email. Tom opens it on his laptop, allows camera and microphone and notes when the fever started and which tablets he has taken.

At the start of the call he holds his health insurance card up to the camera, as the practice asks new patients to do. The doctor asks questions, looks at his throat by camera and issues a sick note. Because Tom is a new patient, it can cover at most three days. If he is not better by then, he will go to the practice in person.

Camera and microphone: how do you test them?

The video page can only see and hear you if your browser allows it. Open the link the day before: when the browser asks, choose «Allow while visiting the site» or «Allow this time». If you once chose «Never allow», you can change it here:

On a phone, the browser or app itself may also need permission to use the camera and microphone. Our guide on reviewing app permissions shows how to check this. Safari, Firefox and Edge have their own menus; each browser's help pages show the way.

Tip: Use your home Wi-Fi for the appointment rather than an open network on a train or in a café. Which connection suits which task is explained in Wi-Fi on the go.

What should you have ready?

A few notes help you cover everything, even if the connection drops for a moment. Write them on paper so you do not have to switch windows during the call.

• Symptoms: when they started, how strong they are, what helps or makes them worse, and any temperature readings with the time.
• Medicines: name and dose of everything you take regularly, including over-the-counter products, plus known allergies.
• Documents: your health insurance card or number and recent test results the practice may not have.
• Questions: two or three questions you definitely want answered.
• Back-up: a phone number where the practice can reach you if the video fails.

Choose a room where nobody can overhear you and close the door. Light should come from the front, not from a window behind you. Headphones make the conversation clearer and more private. Keep your charger within reach.

How can you tell a trustworthy video service?

If your own practice offers video, it also chooses the tool. In Germany, that video service must be certified by an independent body, and the KBV publishes a list of certified providers. The transmission is end-to-end encrypted for the whole session, the consultation must be free of advertising, and the practice may only record it with your consent. In France, a teleconsultation by a doctor employed by a teleconsultation company is only reimbursed if the company is approved by the health ministry, which publishes the list.

If you find a platform yourself through an advert or a search engine, check before booking:

• Who treats you? Name, speciality and the country where the doctor is licensed.
• Who runs the platform? Full company details with an address.
• What does it cost? The price should be clear before you enter payment details.
• What happens to your data? A clear privacy notice saying who stores your information and for how long.
• Is there a real conversation? In France, a prescription cannot be issued on the basis of an online questionnaire alone.

Also check where the provider is based. Under Directive 2011/24/EU on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare, telemedicine is considered to be provided in the Member State where the provider is established, so that country's rules and quality standards apply. For telling health information from advertising online, see checking health information sources.

Who pays? Six countries at a glance

Costs depend on who treats you and how you are insured. With your own practice in the public system, things are usually simple. With commercial platforms or private policies, ask before the appointment.

Treated by video from another EU country? Under the same directive, your home country reimburses the costs if the care is among the benefits you are entitled to at home, up to the amount it would pay for the same care at home, and it may apply the same conditions as for care at home, including for telemedicine. Ask your health insurer before booking which conditions and forms apply.