COVID-19 has undoubtedly disrupted the entire US health care delivery system. There’s been a seismic shift in how healthcare providers offer their service, to the point that virtual care, or telemedicine, has become the new normal.
Since healthcare facilities are focusing their resources on people who have contracted the virus, those who don’t need immediate help are encouraged to resort to alternatives to receive the help they need.
People will have to get used to a completely different care experience, at least for the time being. Everyone will have to brave a new health care system, manage their chronic illnesses, and seek answers to new problems. Should you need to access health care in the coming weeks and months, here’s everything you need to know:
Virtual care is the new standard.
In-person office visits are not efficient nor a safe way to deliver health care during a pandemic. Virtual care is the most reasonable and safest option at this time. Depending on the system of your provider, there are different ways on how to reach out to them to get the help you need.
If your health care provider offers patient portals, you may want to utilize the online messaging system to get in contact with them. “Visits” by telephone or video is also possible, and this method allows you to have a 1-on-1 conversation with your doctor.
You’ll find that this option makes way for a great deal of routine health care to be accomplished. Another method that is prevalent now is an “e-consult,” in which your primary care provider contacts a specialist with a focused question about your health issue. The specialist will then respond with the next steps in your plan.
Traditional visits should be your last resort.
For now, the traditional primary care office visit should be your last resort. All health care facilities are considered high-risk sites for either transmitting or receiving exposure to the novel coronavirus.
If you attempt to visit one, it’s not just about your risk of infection. Your health care provider could also be the one infected as they are treating many patients and may not know that they’re carrying symptoms of the virus.
Seeing a doctor, nurse, or any health care provider at this point in time needs to be reserved for when it is absolutely necessary, in situations where a critical health care decision hinges on a provider physically examining you.
Exercise patience.
There’s no question that we’re living in unprecedented times. In a perfect world, we would have a health care system that is more prepared to deal with this kind of situation, but in reality, doctors and other providers are desperately catching up.
Physician offices are dealing with huge call volumes, tackling a host of unanticipated questions, and trying to keep up with guidelines that change hourly. While your medical issues deserve attention, you should be more patient than usual to get a response. In the event that you really need an answer sooner rather than later, you need to be politely persistent.
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