Health tips
How to prepare for your first video consultation
A little preparation turns a video visit into a genuinely useful consultation. Here is what to set up, what to have ready and what to expect.
Medically reviewed by Turki Al-Dossari · Specialist Internist · 12 October 2026
Video consultations have moved from a pandemic stopgap to a normal part of care. For follow-ups, medication reviews, mental-health sessions, skin problems that can be photographed and many chronic-disease check-ins, they save hours of travel and waiting. Getting the most out of one takes about ten minutes of preparation.
Set up your space
Choose a quiet, private room with good light in front of you rather than behind you; a window behind your head turns you into a silhouette. Use headphones if other people are nearby. Test your camera and microphone in the Clinic Hub waiting room, which opens fifteen minutes before your appointment. A laptop or tablet on a table is steadier than a hand-held phone.
Have your information ready
Write down your main concern in one or two sentences and the questions you want answered, in order of importance. Keep a list of every medicine you take, including doses, supplements and anything bought over the counter. If you monitor blood pressure, glucose or weight at home, have the last two weeks of readings in front of you. Upload any recent laboratory results or reports to your Clinic Hub records before the call so the doctor can open them during the consultation.
Show, do not only tell
For a rash, mole or wound, take two clear photographs in daylight beforehand, one close and one showing the whole area, and attach them to the appointment. During the call you can also hold the area up to the camera. For breathing problems, the doctor may ask you to walk on the spot or count aloud; for joint pain, to move the joint through its range.
What the doctor can and cannot do
A video consultation can lead to a diagnosis, a prescription sent electronically to your account, a referral for tests or a decision that you need to be seen in person. It cannot replace a physical examination when one is needed, and it is never the right route for emergencies. Chest pain, severe breathlessness, sudden weakness or heavy bleeding need an emergency department, not a video call.
After the call
Your visit summary and any prescription appear in your account within minutes. Read them the same day while the conversation is fresh, and book the follow-up the doctor recommended before you forget. If something was unclear, secure messaging through Clinic Hub lets you ask a short question rather than booking a new appointment.
Prepared well, a fifteen-minute video visit often achieves more than a rushed in-person one, because both you and the doctor arrive with everything you need already in view.
This article is general information and not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your health.
