Telehealth Ontario

I’ve called in twice now on serious matters. One time they were helpful to instruct me with how to treat crazy glue in the eye. (Long story) and today I called… Not so helpful. Told me to visit a doctor, whom will probably send me to the hospital anyway. Yeah. Don’t call them for infected piercings. Like the family doctor, if they don’t know… They will send you elsewhere.

I’m a fan of it in the sense that I can call up for something that’s bugging me, and I don’t really want to go to the doctor, so I can get someone to talk to almost immediately. Hopefully it is helping curb our spiralling health costs by going to the doctor for boo-​boos. Unfortunately I don’t have a true success story to relate (but fortunately not a fail story).

I have used this on countless ocasions with my elderly in-​laws and they have always helped. At least you can use this as a place to start.

So I had the worst sore throat of my life, it hurt to swallow, there was visible pus when I checked out the scene with a flashlight and a mirror, it was going on 10 days and only getting worse. On top of this I had headaches, fever, very little appetite and wanted to sleep all the time.
The Telehealth nurse told me to gargle with salt water and to go to a clinic if it persisted for more than 3 days as there was a possibility it could be strep throat.
I was in the middle of 4^th year university finals and didn’t want to sit in a clinic for hours if it was just strep throat. I waited until my exams were finished before seeing a doctor. Turns out I had mono. Thank’s Telehealth Ontario.
The idea of free phone-​in health advice is wonderful, but definitely not a doctor replacement. After reading more about common symptoms of mono online, and then the symptoms of strep throat, I am surprised the Telehealth nurse didn’t suggest this.
Bottom line, if you are feeling really rotten and the Telehealth nurse tells you it probably nothing, get a second opinion.

I dunnnno.
On the one hand, I feel lucky that I have access to free, anonymous medical counselling (I hesitate to use the word «advice» here as the only advice I’ve ever received is «go to the hospital») on the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but on the other hand, it’s just that. A listening ear. They won’t diagnose you or even lead you towards a diagnosis over the phone, and you can probably glean more information by punching in your symptoms on some reputable websites.
Having said that, these folks have patiently waited as I paused to puke up a vat of chili into a nearby garbage can after an unfortunate poisoning courtesy of Burrito Boyz, and other times put up with my hoarse and incoherent ramblings as I tried to describe the exact shade of my enraged tonsils (somewhere between «scarlet» and «scotch bonnet»). These RNs are supremely patient and understanding — well spoken and kind. I’m sure they look just like the photo above… peaceful and smiling.
So, after the RN advises you to go to the nearest walk-​in (they can at least provide you with details as to which ones are open) or emergency room, they tell you they’ll fax a copy of your conversation with them to triage to speed up the process. However, I’ve learned from triage that they «never look at that information.» It would appear they don’t even process it (in other words: a waste of time and a pointless effort).
In summary I’d recommend Telehealth if you need to make heads or tails of your symptoms and don’t have access to the internet, or maybe if you’re a new parent or something.