> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.decodahealth.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Telehealth Visits
> Run a Google Meet video visit that the AI scribe joins automatically and turns into a clinical note.
**Prerequisites:** You need a [virtual location](/modules/settings/locations), a connected [Google Calendar](/modules/settings/google-calendar) so appointments get a meeting link, and AI Scribe set up (see [AI Scribe Notes](/modules/notes/ai-scribe)). Your role needs the **Start Video Visits** and **Create Manual Notes** permissions to start a visit, plus **Use AI Scribe** to generate the note from it.
A telehealth visit is a Google Meet video appointment that the AI scribe joins on its own. While you and the patient talk, the scribe records the call, and afterward it writes a structured clinical note from the conversation — the same way [AI Scribe](/modules/notes/ai-scribe) works for in-person visits, but with the meeting as the audio source instead of your microphone.
## Set Up a Telehealth Appointment
Book the appointment at a **virtual location**. When a location is marked **Virtual Location** in [Settings > Locations](/modules/settings/locations) and your clinic has [Google Calendar](/modules/settings/google-calendar) connected, a Google Meet link is created for the appointment automatically. The patient receives that link in their appointment confirmation and reminders, so they can join from their phone or computer.
## Start the Visit
Find the appointment on the calendar or in the patient's chart and open its details. Telehealth appointments show a **Join Meeting** link next to the location.
Click **Join Meeting**. The Google Meet opens in a new browser tab, and the scribe starts joining the call in the background.
The scribe joins the meeting as its own participant and asks to be let in. Admit it from the waiting room so it can record the visit. It's scheduled to be ready about 20 minutes before the appointment, so it's usually waiting before you arrive (see [When the Scribe Is Available](#when-the-scribe-is-available)).
Talk with the patient as usual. The scribe records and transcribes in the background — there's nothing to start or stop.
If video visits aren't enabled for your clinic, **Join Meeting** still opens the Google Meet — it just won't be recorded or scribed. You'll also see **No patient assigned** or **No provider assigned** if the appointment is missing either one; add them before starting.
## When the Scribe Is Available
A scribe is scheduled for each telehealth appointment ahead of time, so it's **guaranteed to be ready from about 20 minutes before** the scheduled start. Within that window, clicking **Join Meeting** brings the scribe into the call.
If you start a visit much earlier than that — well before the 20-minute window — Decoda still tries to bring in a scribe on demand, but a last-minute scribe isn't guaranteed and may not be available. If that happens, start the visit again closer to the appointment time.
The scribe waits in the meeting for you and the patient. If no one joins for about **40 minutes** after the scheduled start, it leaves on its own rather than record an empty room. Clicking **Join Meeting** again brings in a new scribe, but this uses up the guaranteed scheduled one and requests an on-demand scribe instead — so it isn't guaranteed to be available right away.
On-demand scribes come from a shared pool. If one doesn't join within about 30 seconds, click **Join Meeting** again — a retry often picks up a scribe that has just freed up.
If you reschedule, move, or cancel the appointment, the scribe's schedule updates to match automatically.
## While the Visit Is Recording
Once the scribe is in the call, a small recording player appears on screen showing **Recording from meeting**. You can drag it anywhere and keep working in other parts of Decoda — the recording continues in the background.
Unlike an in-person scribe note, a telehealth visit has no microphone picker, timer, or pause button. The meeting itself is the audio source, so the scribe runs entirely on its own.
The transcript labels each speaker by the name they joined the meeting with, and it handles visits conducted in more than one language, including switching languages mid-conversation.
## Finish the Visit and Write the Note
When you're done, leave or close the Google Meet. The scribe leaves the call, and the recording player updates to **Visit ended — finalizing transcript…** while it pulls together the final transcript, then to **Visit ended**.
Click **Generate Note** to turn the conversation into a clinical note. From there, reviewing, editing, refining with AI, and signing off all work exactly as described in [AI Scribe Notes](/modules/notes/ai-scribe) — review every field for clinical accuracy before signing off.
Record only with the patient's consent. Unlike an in-person scribe note, a telehealth visit does **not** automatically skip patients who have opted out of AI Scribe — once the scribe joins, it records the call regardless of that setting. Before you start a video visit, check the patient's **AI Scribe Consent** on their chart's **Settings** tab, and don't start the scribe for anyone who has opted out. See [Patient Consent](/modules/notes/ai-scribe#patient-consent).
## Common Questions
First, you may have started too early — a scribe is only guaranteed from about 20 minutes before the appointment, and a last-minute one isn't guaranteed (see [When the Scribe Is Available](#when-the-scribe-is-available)). Also check that video visits and AI Scribe are enabled for your clinic and that your role has both the **Start Video Visits** and **Create Manual Notes** permissions — both are required to start a visit, and missing **Create Manual Notes** is a common cause of **Could not start video visit**. The scribe only joins appointments at a **virtual location** that have a meeting link — confirm the location is marked virtual and Google Calendar is connected. If you saw **Could not start video visit**, try **Join Meeting** again.
Yes. The scribe joins through the Google Meet waiting room, so the meeting host admits it like any other participant. It typically knocks a few minutes before the appointment starts.
The patient uses the Google Meet link from their appointment confirmation or reminder. There's nothing extra for them to install or set up.
Yes. The recording player stays on screen with a link back to the note, and the note is saved against the patient and appointment. Open it from the **Notes** page or the patient's **Medical Notes** tab whenever you're ready.