Many of us are frightened just by the thought of going to a doctor’s office, outpatient clinic and worst of all, trembling to even think of going to the hospital for care!
This situation is understandable. After much planning, your doctors have made it safe and have implemented measures to make sure you can access health care safely.
The facts are that delaying health care visits may do you much more harm in the long run. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the number of people being evaluated for strokes at U.S. hospitals has plunged 40% during this COVID-19 pandemic. People haven’t stopped having strokes-they just aren’t getting the care they need.
Eric Synder, MD, medical director of the emergency department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, says patients are putting off non-COVID-19 care to their detriment. “We are seeing patients wait too long at home, and unnecessarily suffering alone,” he says. But Dr. Snyder says patients should be reassured by the protocols in place for infection prevention. “I feel extremely safe in the hospital, where we have all the precautions at our fingertips.”
Many of us have their personal Doctor that we are used to seeing on a regular basis, which could be every month or every three months, whenever your normal visits are, you should not delay this but start seeing your personal doctor within the normal visits you are accustomed to.
I assure you that if you call for an appointment you will find your doctor available for making an appointment with you. You will be quite surprised when you show up, wearing your mask, to find only one or no other patients in the waiting room. When you sign in, they will offer you sanitizer for your hands, but no magazines to read in the waiting room! When you enter the doctor’s exam room, he or she will have a mask on and I am sure this visit will be a relief. You may need an adjustment in your regular meds and that could change lot of conditions you may have been dealing with prior to your visit. It is totally safe to go see your Doctor when you need to see him or her.
If you are still concerned about a physical visit, you can contact your doctor’s office and schedule a phone visit or a Face Time, Zoom or Google Meet. Today’s technology will allow you to visit with your physician online; all you need is a smart phone, tablet or laptop!
To Your Health!
Jim
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