Appointments#

Most TeleTest consultations are asynchronous - you don't need to be online at a specific time. Here's the flow:

1. Choose a test or treatment panel on teletest.ca and pay the consultation fee.
2. Complete your health-history intake in the patient portal. This takes a few minutes.
3. Submit your intake. A provincially licensed clinician (physician or nurse practitioner) reviews it - almost always within a few hours.
4. You'll receive a secure message in your portal with your lab requisition or prescription, or any clarifying question the clinician has.
5. Reply via Secure Mail if there's any back-and-forth, or proceed to your lab or pharmacy steps.

Real-time text chat is also available for every consultation. If you'd rather have a live back-and-forth with the clinician (or if the clinician needs to ask several questions interactively), you can opt into a real-time chat from the portal.

Weekdays: 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM Eastern Time. We process testing and prescription requests during these hours.

About 90% of intakes are reviewed within 90 minutes of submission during processing hours - usually much faster. You'll get an email the moment the clinician's response is ready in your portal.

Submissions outside processing hours (overnight, weekends, or before 9:00 AM ET / after 11:00 PM ET on weekdays) are typically picked up the next business day. The same consultation fee covers any review time - there's no premium for "after-hours" submissions.

If you're in BC, you're on Pacific Time - subtract 3 hours from the Eastern times shown above. So our processing window is roughly 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM PT on weekdays.

Most real-time chats take about 5 to 10 minutes. Simple consultations (e.g., a routine STI test request or a birth-control renewal with a straightforward intake) can be shorter. More complex consultations - new symptoms, multiple medications, treatment decisions - can take longer.

The clinician will stay in the chat until your questions are answered and your requisition or prescription is finalized.

Yes. You'll be asked to confirm your full name and date of birth at two specific points - this is a standard step that protects your privacy and ensures we're issuing care to the right person:

• Before entering a real-time chat room with a clinician.
• Before your lab requisition or prescription is released at the end of an asynchronous Secure Mail consultation.

Once you confirm your details match what's on your account, you're admitted to the chat or your requisition/prescription is sent out.

After payment, your patient portal shows the next step:

1. Complete your health-history intake (a brief survey about your symptoms and medical history).
2. Submit it for review. A clinician will pick it up and respond by secure message - almost always within a few hours.
3. Read the clinician's response. Your requisition, prescription, or clarifying question appears as a secure message in your portal. You'll get an email notification.
4. Visit the lab or pharmacy with the requisition or prescription released to your portal (or wait for the lab/pharmacy fax to arrive).

If you've paid but aren't sure where you are in the flow, log in and look for the green action banners in the portal - they'll tell you the next step.

From your patient portal:

1. Look for the green action banner that says Join Secure Messaging or similar (it appears when a real-time chat is available).
2. Click to enter the chat room. You'll be asked to verify your identity before being admitted (confirm your full name and date of birth as they appear on your account).
3. Type your message and the clinician will respond in real time.

You can also request a real-time chat at any point during your consultation by replying to a secure message and asking for one.

If you lose your connection during a chat:

1. Reconnect quickly. Log back in to the portal - the chat room is usually still active for a few minutes. The clinician will typically wait before assuming you've disconnected.
2. Refresh the page if the chat doesn't reload automatically.
3. If you can't get back into the chat in time, use our contact form and we can resume the consultation by Secure Mail or set up another real-time chat at no additional cost.

Your intake history stays in the system, so the next interaction (chat or message) can pick up where you left off.

Completed real-time chat transcripts are not currently viewable in the portal. We're working on adding this. If you need a record of a specific instruction or recommendation, take a screenshot during the chat before it ends.

The clinician's final plan (prescription details, lab requisition, follow-up advice) will remain available in the portal as a secure message even after the chat closes.

Yes. Your secure messages and chat content are fully confidential. Only you and the clinicians reviewing your case can see the conversation. Nothing is shared with your family doctor, your employer, or anyone else without your explicit consent.

Your messages are stored as part of your medical record (encrypted on Canadian-hosted servers) and retained per Canadian medical-record-retention rules.

For more, see Anonymous Testing & Privacy and Your Family Doctor & TeleTest.

TeleTest is a messaging-based platform - all consultations are by text (either asynchronous Secure Mail or real-time text chat). We don't currently offer voice or video calls for initial consultations.

If you have an abnormal result and the clinician feels a different format would be helpful for the follow-up, you can discuss that during the follow-up itself.

We set eligibility questions for each test panel to ensure patient safety and appropriate care. If the system blocks you from proceeding, it means your specific situation needs an in-person consultation - a physical exam or additional tests that can't be done safely by virtual care.

For your safety, please visit a local walk-in clinic, urgent-care centre, or your family doctor. They can examine you and determine the best next step.

Abnormal results: We follow up automatically. If any of your results come back abnormal, you'll see a follow-up link in your portal to connect with a clinician about the findings and arrange treatment if appropriate. No additional fee for the abnormal-result follow-up.

When the follow-up link becomes available depends on the result:

• Critical results (e.g., a positive STI such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis): The follow-up link opens immediately so treatment can be arranged without delay.
• Non-critical abnormal results (e.g., high cholesterol, new diabetes, vitamin deficiency): The follow-up link opens 7 days after your first abnormal result is received. This batching window allows the clinician to review all related results together rather than discussing each finding piecemeal as it comes in - it gives you a more complete picture and a single, coherent treatment plan.

Normal results: No follow-up is initiated. We provide episodic care: similar to a walk-in clinic, we don't form an ongoing patient relationship after the initial consultation.

If you have questions, new symptoms, or need additional testing after your initial consultation, submit a new consultation request (see the next accordion).

After your consultation is complete, our system doesn't allow you to access the same clinician for a follow-up. This applies to any of the following:

• Adding more tests to an existing requisition
• Requesting a prescription after a test consultation
• Requesting another prescription after a follow-up consultation
• Requesting a new requisition after a prescription consultation
• Asking the clinician any follow-up question
• Changing your dosage or switching medication
• Discussing your previous consultation

To get any of these, submit a new consultation request:

1. Choose the appropriate test or treatment panel on teletest.ca.
2. Pay the consultation fee.
3. Complete a new intake history (update anything new).
4. Submit, and a clinician will respond by Secure Mail (or a real-time chat if you'd prefer).

You may not be reconnected with the same clinician, but the next clinician will have access to your medical record.

Exception: If we received your abnormal results and we contacted you for treatment follow-up, that follow-up is included with your original panel - you don't need to book a new consultation.

If you experience new or worsening symptoms at any point - before your test, while waiting for results, or after a normal result - we recommend:

1. Seek in-person care. Visit your family doctor, a walk-in clinic, or an urgent-care centre. A physical examination may be necessary, and our clinicians can only prescribe based on positive or abnormal test results.
2. Emergencies: If you have a fever, feel severely unwell, or believe you're having a medical emergency, go directly to the nearest emergency department or call 911.
3. Optional: If you'd like additional virtual guidance before an in-person visit, you can book a new TeleTest consultation. The next clinician may either prescribe medication or advise an in-person visit, depending on your situation.

Lab requisitions are issued once per consultation. To repeat testing or get a new requisition:

• Submit a new consultation through teletest.ca. Choose the test panel you want, complete the intake, and submit.
• Alternatively, get repeat testing through your family doctor or any walk-in clinic. You don't need to use TeleTest specifically for repeat work.
• Subscription patients: Your authorized consultations are already available in your portal. Just log in, select the relevant panel from your subscription, fill out a new medical history form, and submit - no need to contact us first. See Subscriptions & Test Packs for more.

No. TeleTest does not issue surgical clearance letters. Surgical clearance typically requires an in-person exam (e.g., physical exam, blood pressure and vitals check) that cannot be completed virtually.

You may visit your family doctor or a walk-in clinic to get a Clearance Letter for Surgery, and bring along any bloodwork results you received through TeleTest.

TeleTest is able to issue a single workplace medical note but cannot provide back-to-back extensions or certify cumulative absences longer than 14 days. If your situation requires longer or repeated time away from work, you'll need an in-person assessment.

Next steps: Visit a local walk-in clinic or your primary care provider. A clinician who can examine you in person is best positioned to confirm your current medical status and, if appropriate, issue further documentation for additional time away from work.

If you requested an extension that we couldn't provide, a full refund will be processed to your original payment method automatically.