Telehealth Emergency Readiness: Before the Session Gets Hard

Before care begins

• Create a telehealth emergency plan and explain when it may be activated.
• Identify local emergency services and receiving options for the client's location rather than assuming the clinician's local 911 system can directly dispatch there.
• Identify a nearby support person when clinically appropriate and obtain authorization for routine contact when needed; understand emergency-disclosure exceptions separately.
• Agree in advance on a practice-approved backup connection method — a secure alternate platform or telephone option that meets the practice's privacy requirements — so a platform failure does not end the session by default.
• Plan what both parties will do if video/audio disconnects during an emergency: who calls back, on what number, how long the clinician will attempt reconnection, and what happens next if contact is not restored.

At the start of the session

• Confirm the client's current physical location and callback number.
• Confirm who else is present and whether the client can speak privately.
• For high-risk or unstable situations, confirm local emergency access and whether the previously identified support person is still reachable/appropriate.

If urgent concern develops

• Keep the client engaged while assessment and urgent arrangements occur when clinically and physically safe.
• Use the client's actual location when contacting emergency services or a receiving program.
• Confirm destination, transport, and accepting service/person when arranging an urgent handoff.
• If connection drops during an imminent concern, attempt reconnection while activating the predetermined local response rather than waiting passively for the client to reconnect.
• Move to the practice-approved backup platform or telephone rather than an unapproved consumer application when the primary connection fails.
• After switching platforms or reconnecting, re-confirm identity and current location when clinically relevant; the person may have moved, and the new connection may not carry the earlier context.

Missed visits are not all emergencies

Use the person's known recent risk, the circumstances of the missed contact, available collateral, and the practice's outreach protocol. A missed telehealth appointment by itself does not automatically establish imminent danger or justify law-enforcement involvement.

Document the relevant facts

• Location and callback number when clinically relevant to the event.
• Disconnection/reconnection attempts, including a move to the backup connection method and any re-confirmation of identity or location.
• Emergency/support contacts used and why.
• Receiving service, destination, transport, handoff acceptance, and follow-up owner.