Due to COVID-19, much of the country and the world are in self-isolation or quarantine. People are only leaving their homes when necessary to avoid the spread of the virus. This means that patients will hardly visit your medical practice, if at all. Your patients still need quality medical care during this challenging time. Some individuals are even more concerned about their health since it’s not easy to make a traditional doctor’s appointment these days.
You can avoid potentially spreading or contracting the virus by keeping some practical tips in mind. These suggestions can preserve the health and safety of your patients while helping your practice thrive.
Phone Visits
How are you going to treat patients that need to be seen to be treated? For instance, if you’re a dentist in Palmdale CA, your dental practice relies on in-person patient visits. However, you won’t be able to take as many patients during the pandemic and some patients will likely cancel or delay their appointments. You can attend to your patients with phone consultations if their health issues aren’t urgent. For instance, if a patient has a chipped or loose tooth and needs to know how to handle this situation until they can get to your office, you can provide practical advice. If a patient is having a toothache and can’t make it to your dental practice, you can suggest remedies based on medicines or natural treatments your patients may have in their homes. If patients have questions about how to maintain their health during self-isolation, let them know they can turn to you for guidance and peace of mind.
Video Visits
Since you’ll often need to see your patients to determine their ailments and make an accurate diagnosis, it’s important to offer video visits for your patients as well. Video calls will allow your patients to show you whether they are experiencing redness or swelling and allow you to check for other physical symptoms that could indicate a problem. It may also make patients feel better to see you “face to face” even though they can’t get to your office. After you see many of these symptoms for yourself, you can prescribe medicine or offer instructions for people to care for themselves since they’re not able to see you in person.
Email prescriptions
If your patients were taking certain prescriptions before self-isolation and need refills, you can email their prescription confirmations to them or send prescriptions to the patient’s pharmacy of choice. You can use email as a way to communicate with your patients and let them know when a prescription is on the way to the pharmacy. In your email, you can further explain the benefits and side effects of the medicine. This can ease any discomfort patients may feel since they’re not able to visit your office in person right now.
Prescribing Bedrest
In some cases, you’ll need to prescribe bed rest for your patients. if an individual is dealing with an ailment that requires long-term physical rest, self-isolation could be an effective cure. Studies have even shown that people are more likely to recover quickly when they can do so in their own homes. This is largely due to the fact that people feel more comfortable in their houses and may experience more fear and anxiety when they are recovering in hospital rooms, especially if they have to do so alone. If you know that some of your patients won’t get the rest they need without a “prescription,” now is the ideal time to recommend bed rest for those who need it.
Scheduling Virtual Follow-Ups
Don’t forget to schedule follow-ups with your patients even though most people are in self-isolation. This not only helps patients stay on top of their health during an uncertain time, but it lets your patients know that you are still attentive to their needs. You can email your patients reminding them of an upcoming appointment and give them an option between a phone or a video visit. It’s also a good idea to include a summary of the patient’s last visit so they can better address their current concerns and report their progress. Taking special measures to keep up with your patient’s appointments can help your medical practice to grow once patients are out of quarantine and help you maintain a reliable customer base.
