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[nenjin]

Thank you. I wasn't sure why he wanted to see me on video verses talk to me on the phone for this, given that it isn't like he's going to be able to see the nerves inside me on a regular camera. I also was not going to bring this up for fear he may decide I'm right and then insist I see him in person... 5 or 6 or however many months later. I appreciate it.

Doctors can tell a lot about you just by looking at you. For example, if you were needing a pain medication prescription and they (for some reason) decided to do tele-health, they'd want to see you to see if you look like a strung out drug addict looking for a fix. If you get on camera and your eyes are bloodshot, you got bags underneath them, you're disheveled, you're emaciated, your teeth are a mess and your living space in the background is a Stage IV disaster....they might think twice about prescribing you narcotics. Sometimes it's easier to get someone to show you who they actually are by allowing them to do so from the comfort of their own home.

And before you take that and get super paranoid about how you appear on camera....I can almost guarantee the reason they want to do tele-health is that it's MUCH more convenient for everyone.

So this is going to go one of two ways: 1) either it's telehealth because it's more convenient just to tell you no over the internet or 2) it's a fact-finding meeting that so far does not require you to physically be present to prove your disability to them. Which can be good! It might mean they're more likely to give you your doctor's note rather than making you PROVE you're facing chronic pain and a disability. Part of the battle might just be showing up.

[ChairmanPoo]

Hang on a second, you're a physician right? I imagine you have a million things to do and your time is very valuable.
I understand that the world simply does not have enough doctors. It's a hard job and I don't want to make it harder.

May I please ask for some tips to make things easier on my physician? or physicians in general? (Different in US, but...).
I may be very frustrated with the whole process, but I am just smart enough to know the doctor is not to blame. I also just work sort of adjacent to healthcare in offices and don't know medicine really.
I figured out doctors have a special way of looking at things and I don't want to be a pain for him, especially if he is being nice enough to work me into his (who are we kidding, probably overbooked) schedule.

I'm actually surprised that they are giving you so much trouble. I've gotten plenty of requests from patients for certs & letters for various aid programs and usually if its not crazy I obligue. One patient was under some financial duress at one point and I even made a letter saying that stress was counterproductive to their condition and they should be given leeway (I didnt think itd work but for me its literally a short dictation). Hypothetically speaking if that person had asked for me for a letter for their employer to justify WFH I'd have done it too.

Then again I'm told I'm far more approachable than the average consultant in the country where I work.

I honestly think that in part is some weird cultural barrier. I get the impression that in the anglosphere there's more emphasis, almost an  obsession with "not letting X take advantage [of us, or of the system]". I think it very often ends up  generating situations where the innocent pay for the sins of the guilty, so to speak. I think culturally back home there's more a trend to work around difficult people. Both approaches have their pros and cons. But I digress.

I'd go from less to more. Ie: I presume your GP knows about your chronic conditions. There should be a mandate to make a report explaining how they limit your activities. From there I'd try to make it specifically about WFH.