How to Join Your Scheduled Video Visit

Talk to your doctor about whether a video visit is right for you. Eligible patients must have a My CS‑Link account and be physically located in California. If you don't have a My CS-Link account, ask your doctor's office to send you an activation code with instructions on how to set up the account. Be sure to activate your My CS‑Link account before your video visit. 

Once your video visit is scheduled, you will need to download the Cedars‑Sinai mobile app if you don't already have it on your mobile device. Simply go to the Apple App Store(Opens in a new tab) or Google Play(Opens in a new tab) and search "Cedars‑Sinai" to download the app.

• You must be in California to join a video visit. Due to legal requirements, if you are not located in California at the time of the video visit, you cannot get treatment through video visits and should get in‑person treatment in the state or country in which you are located.

After checking in on the mobile app or computer browser, select "Begin Visit" a few minutes before the scheduled start of your visit and follow the prompts. A member of your care team will launch the meeting and join you at the scheduled time.

You may see a member of your doctor's clinical team during the first few minutes of your video visit. They will ask you about your wellbeing, as well as your activities, sleep patterns and any medications you are taking. Then you will visit with your doctor or their nurse practitioner or physician assistant to talk about your care and any questions you may have. If you have just had surgery or been released from the hospital, you may be able to have your post‑discharge visit via video visit, rather than in person. You also may have clinical images taken during your visit. These images are securely stored in your digital health record.

For COVID‑19-related video visits: We will not be collecting copayments or coinsurance from patients with respect to COVID‑19-related video visit consultations provided during the national emergency. This applies to patients with commercial insurance, as well as patients with governmental payers such as Medicare and Medi-Cal. We will continue to bill insurance, including government payers, for all COVID-19-related (coronavirus) video visit services to the extent billable.

For non‑COVID-19-related video visits: We will be collecting copayments and/or coinsurance from patients with respect to non‑COVID-19-related video visit consultations. This applies to patients with commercial insurance, as well as patients with governmental payers such as Medicare and Medi‑Cal, if the service is covered by Medicare or Medi-Cal and to the extent Medicare or Medi-Cal has assigned any coinsurance costs to the patient. We will also bill insurance, including government payers, for all non‑COVID-19-related video visit services to the extent billable.

Yes, you can ask for a medication refill if needed. Your doctor will let you know if you need any new medications.

Yes, your video visit will be documented in your digital health record. You will be able to see a summary of your visit by logging into My CS‑Link once your doctor has made their notes.

Yes, these video visits are compliant with all health privacy laws, including HIPAA. It uses the same secure online platform that powers your Cedars‑Sinai digital health record.

• Please call your doctor's office if you have any questions about these visits. 

• If you are having audio/video issues during your video session, exit the video session and try joining again. Also, try switching from WiFi to a cellular data connection.
• If using a computer, make sure you have a webcam on your computer and log in to your My CS‑Link account using Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge browser.
• Mobile App:
  • Make sure that your app is up to date and that your camera/microphone permissions have been enabled.
  • If the app crashes during the video visit, try deleting/uninstalling the app and try reinstalling again.
  • If reinstalling the app does not resolve your issues, try connecting via the mycslink.org website. 

Yes, although you will have a better experience on the mobile app. If you are having trouble connecting to your video visit from the mobile app, you can connect to mycslink.org  from your desktop. Make sure you have a webcam on your computer and log in to your My CS‑Link account using Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge browser. They are currently the only web browsers that are compatible with this program.

• Try exiting the video session and joining again. If the connection cannot be restored, a member of your care team will call you to finish your visit over the phone.