Virtual Care · Older Adults
Virtual care for older adults, and for the people who help them
For an older adult, the hard part is rarely the medicine. It is the transport, the repetition, the ten medications from four prescribers and the question of who is actually keeping track. This page covers what virtual care does well for older adults, how a caregiver can take part, and where in-person care is plainly the better choice.
Caregiver-supported visits welcome · Medication and lab follow-up
The short answer
- The short answer
- Virtual visits work well for older adults when the need is a conversation: reviewing medications, following up on blood pressure or labs, checking on a symptom, or deciding whether something needs to be seen today.
- Can a family member join?
- Yes. A spouse, adult child or caregiver can take part in the visit with the patient's permission, and that often makes the visit far more useful.
- What it costs
- One-time visits are QuickCare $19.99, phone $39, video $49 and an extended video visit $69. An extended visit is often the right choice when there is a lot to go through.
- About Medicare
- Coverage for telehealth depends on your eligibility, the specific service, provider participation and your plan's rules. See our Medicare telehealth page — we do not promise coverage.
- Next step
- Book a visit, or read about ongoing older-adult primary care if you want a continuing relationship.
This page sits under virtual care — start there if you want the full picture first.
Which is the right fit for an older adult?
- Get care now
A single problem today
A virtual visit from $19.99, with a provider who takes a full history rather than a seven-minute one.
- Older-adult primary care
Several conditions and a long medication list
Ongoing membership care with a board-certified Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner is the better fit.
- Care for aging parents
You are arranging this for a parent
Caregiver arrangements, consent and long-distance logistics are covered separately.
- Medicare and telehealth
Medicare is involved
Read how Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage differ here before enrolling.
Presence is not currently able to bill Medicare; membership is paid privately. Coverage and in-network status vary by plan and must be verified before any visit.
Where virtual care genuinely helps
Medication review
Ten medications from four prescribers is common, and nobody has looked at the whole list together in years. A longer visit exists for exactly this.
Blood pressure and lab follow-up
Home readings and recent labs can be reviewed without a trip. When testing is overdue, the visit is used to order the right test.
"Should this be seen today?"
Often the most valuable outcome: a licensed provider helping decide whether something needs an office, an emergency department or watchful waiting at home.
After a hospital or specialist visit
Discharge instructions and new medication lists are where things go wrong. A follow-up conversation catches contradictions early.
Caregiver coordination
An adult child three hours away can be on the same visit, hear the plan directly and stop relying on relayed summaries.
Avoiding an unnecessary trip
For someone who no longer drives, avoiding two hours of logistics for a five-minute question is not convenience — it is access.
How to make a visit for an older adult work well
Gather the actual bottles
Not a remembered list. Bottles include the strength, the prescriber and the date, which is exactly what your provider needs.
Bring home readings
Blood pressure, weight, glucose or temperature logs — even a week of them changes what can be decided in one visit.
Decide who is joining
With permission, a caregiver can take part. Agree beforehand who is speaking and who is taking notes.
Choose the longer visit when there is a lot
An extended video visit at $69 exists for multiple medications, several conditions or a full catch-up.
Write down the plan before hanging up
What changed, what testing is being ordered, what to watch for, and when to follow up.
When in-person care is clearly better
Suited to a virtual visit
- Medication review and refill evaluations
- Reviewing labs, home readings and specialist instructions
- New but stable symptoms that need triage
- Follow-up on a known, stable condition
- Caregiver-supported planning conversations
Be seen in person
- Any fall, head injury or new confusion
- Chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or weakness on one side — call 911
- New leg swelling, a wound that is not healing, or a suspected infection needing examination
- A physical exam, hearing or vision assessment, or anything needing hands
- Rapid weight loss, dehydration, or an inability to keep fluids down
Sudden confusion, difficulty speaking, facial droop or one-sided weakness are emergencies. Call 911.
Continuity matters more with age, not less
The more conditions and medications a person has, the more expensive it becomes to start over with a stranger. Details get dropped, interactions get missed and the same explanation gets given for the fifth time.
Presence care is delivered by a nurse practitioner and licensed providers, and you can request a previous Presence provider for future visits when they are available during scheduled hours. For older adults who want a continuing relationship rather than episodic visits, our ongoing older-adult primary care page describes what that looks like — including in-person options in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as available.
Questions people ask
Can my adult child or caregiver be on the visit?
Yes, with the patient's permission. Caregiver participation is welcome and usually makes the visit more productive.
Do you accept Medicare?
We do not make coverage promises. Whether a telehealth service is covered depends on your eligibility, the service itself, provider participation and your plan's rules. Our Medicare telehealth page explains how to check.
Is video hard to use?
A phone visit at $39 is available if video is a barrier. For video, having a family member set up the call beforehand solves most difficulties.
Can you review all of my medications?
A medication review is one of the most valuable things a virtual visit can do. Choose the extended video visit at $69 if there are several medications or conditions to go through.
Can you order labs?
Routine labs can be ordered when clinically appropriate, and results can be reviewed afterward. Participating laboratory locations are used for collection.
Who provides the care?
Care is delivered by a nurse practitioner and licensed providers. We do not describe our clinicians as physicians or specialists.
About this information
Written by the Presence care team for patients considering care with us. Presence care is delivered by licensed providers, including a board-certified Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner — not by a physician, and not by software. Meet your provider.
This page explains how our service works. It is general information, not a diagnosis, and it is not a substitute for an evaluation of your own situation. Whether testing, treatment or a prescription is appropriate is decided during a visit.
If this is an emergency — chest pain, trouble breathing, stroke symptoms, severe bleeding, or thoughts of harming yourself — call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. See our emergency care notice.
Bring the whole medication list to one visit
Choose an extended video visit when there is a lot to review, or start with a phone visit if video is a barrier.