See the surgeon before you see the airport

Most of an orthopedic consultation is conversation and imaging review — both of which video handles well. In a telehealth visit Dr. Morton can take your history, watch how you move, review X-rays or MRI ordered near your home, explain your diagnosis, and lay out the full option ladder from injections and biologics to replacement. For patients in Hawai‘i, post-operative check-ins, second opinions, and surveillance visits work beautifully by video too.

Honesty first: a screen can't palpate a joint, test ligament stability by hand, or clear you for surgery alone. So telehealth is offered when an in-person visit isn't practical — and it's never telehealth-only: for patients in Hawai‘i, the video visit does the thinking, and when surgery is planned, the hands-on exam and final testing fold into one efficient trip — a day for O‘ahu neighbors or a planned neighbor-island itinerary. Patients outside Hawai‘i start with a pre-travel records-and-imaging review instead; evaluation and treatment begin at the in-person visit in Hawai‘i through the fly-in program.

Hawai‘i's geography makes specialists a flight away for most residents; the Pacific's geography makes it worse. Telehealth flattens the first problem: neighbor-island patients from Hilo, Kona, Maui, and Kauai avoid interisland flights for routine visits. For patients from Guam and Saipan, American Samoa, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea, the video call works differently — it's a review of records and imaging to plan a trip, and treatment begins at the in-person visit in Hawai‘i (see below). Evening hours in Asia line up naturally with Hawai‘i's clock.

Dr. Morton is licensed to practice medicine in the State of Hawai‘i. Telehealth visits that are medical care — evaluation, follow-up, and prescriptions — are for patients physically located in Hawai‘i at the time of the visit; what counts is where you are during the call, not where you live.

For patients elsewhere — Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Samoa, the Philippines, the mainland, Japan, or Korea — the pre-travel video call is a records-and-imaging review to plan a trip. Treatment begins at the in-person visit in Hawai‘i, and follow-up after you return home is coordinated with your local physician and therapist.

Telehealth is optional: you may decline or stop a video visit at any time and ask for an in-person visit instead. It is never for emergencies — call 911. Join from a private room, not a public place. By joining a telehealth visit you agree to these terms. The full terms are on the telehealth consent page.

Video visits run on Doximity, and you join on an iPhone or Android phone. Before your visit, our office sends a text message to your phone with a link to your video visit — so make sure the office has the mobile number for the phone you'll use. If you haven't received the text by your appointment time, call (808) 439-6201.

Patients outside the United States — in the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Japan, Korea or elsewhere — join their pre-travel video call on doxy.me instead. The office sends you the link before the call. It opens in the web browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with no app to install; allow the browser to use your camera and microphone when it asks. If the link hasn't arrived by the time of your call, email Contact@pacificboneandjoint.com or call (808) 439-6201. Patients in Guam, Saipan, American Samoa and on the US mainland use Doximity, like patients in Hawai‘i.

Keep it simple: a charged phone, a quiet, private room with decent lighting and a good connection, and shorts or loose clothing so the joint is visible. Have your medication list handy and your imaging done beforehand if possible — we'll tell you exactly what to get and where. A family member on the call is welcome and often helpful. If the connection drops, we finish by phone; technology should never be the reason you don't get answers.