> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Join a video visit

> Get ready for a video appointment, test your camera and microphone, and join your clinician from your phone or computer.

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['portal']} />

A video visit happens in your web browser. There is nothing to download and no meeting app to install — you open the portal, check your camera and microphone, and join.

Select **Telehealth** in the list on the left of the portal. The page is headed **Telehealth Sessions** — "Join video consultations with your healthcare provider".

## Before the day

The page has a checklist card, **Before Your Session**, with four things worth sorting out in advance rather than in the last two minutes:

|                     | What to do                                                                                         |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Check Camera**    | Make sure your device has a working camera and that nothing is covering it.                        |
| **Test Microphone** | Headphones with a microphone give the clearest sound and keep the conversation private.            |
| **Stable Internet** | Sit near your wi-fi router if you can. A weak signal is the most common cause of a frozen picture. |
| **Quiet Space**     | Somewhere private and well lit, with the light in front of you rather than behind you.             |

Charge your phone or plug it in. A video call uses battery quickly.

## Join your visit

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the portal a few minutes early">
    Sign in and select **Telehealth**. When your visit is close, a banner appears at the top of the page saying **Waiting Room Open** or **Session Active**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the join button">
    Select **Enter Waiting Room**, **Join Session** or **Join Now** — whichever your visit shows. You can also join from the **Join Call** button on the appointment itself.

    If your visit has a waiting room you will see: "This session has a waiting room. You'll be admitted once your provider is ready." Stay on the screen — you are let in automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Allow the camera and microphone">
    Your browser asks for permission to use your camera and microphone. Choose **Allow**. Without it, your clinician cannot see or hear you.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check yourself on the ready screen">
    The screen headed **Ready to join?** greets you by name and shows a picture of yourself, so you can check the lighting and framing.

    Use the microphone and camera buttons to turn either off before you go in, and the **Camera** and **Microphone** pickers to switch to a different one — a headset instead of the built-in microphone, for instance.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Join the call">
    Select **Join Call**. You are now in the visit with your clinician.
  </Step>
</Steps>

When the visit is over you see "Call Ended — Thank you for using ClinikEHR Telehealth." You can close the tab.

## Blur your background

Select **Effects** on the ready screen to blur what is behind you or choose a background image. This is useful if you are taking the call somewhere you would rather not show. The same panel can reduce background noise.

Blur and the supplied backgrounds are available to everyone. Uploading a background picture of your own depends on your clinic's plan, so that option is not on every portal.

## Status labels

| Label            | What it means                                                   |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Scheduled**    | Booked, not yet open                                            |
| **Waiting Room** | Open — you can enter and wait                                   |
| **In Progress**  | The visit is running; use **Rejoin Session** if you dropped out |
| **Completed**    | Finished                                                        |
| **Cancelled**    | The visit is off                                                |
| **Missed**       | Nobody joined in time                                           |
| **Link Expired** | The join link has run out — see below                           |

## If something goes wrong

**"Media Device Issue"** — the message says "You can still join the call. The healthcare provider may not see or hear you until this is resolved." Join anyway, then fix it: check nothing else is using the camera (close other video apps and tabs), check your browser's permission for the site, and try the **Camera** and **Microphone** pickers. As a last resort, hang up and rejoin from your phone.

**Link Expired**, **Invalid Link** or **Invalid Token** — join links are personal to you and only last a short while, so an old email will not work. Always join from the **Telehealth** page in the portal rather than from an earlier message.

**Room Not Found** or **Appointment Cancelled** — the visit is no longer there. Contact your clinic.

**Access Denied** — the link belongs to someone else's visit, or your access has been turned off. Contact your clinic.

**The picture freezes** — turn your own camera off for a moment; audio usually recovers first. If it stays bad, hang up and rejoin.

## Good to know

* **Use a modern browser.** Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox all work, on a phone, tablet or computer.
* **Some visits are recorded** for your clinical record, and only where your clinic asks for and records your consent. You are told before it starts.
* **Nobody else can join.** Your link is issued to you alone.

If you cannot get in at all, ring the clinic — they can move you to a phone call. More help in [Portal problems and how to fix them](/portal/patients/troubleshooting).