{"id":18748,"date":"2020-06-16T10:17:28","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T15:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/?p=18748"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:48:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T19:48:30","slug":"heres-how-contact-tracing-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s How Contact Tracing Works"},"content":{"rendered":"

The information included in this article was current as of publication, however, information changes rapidly regarding Covid-19 and may be out of date.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

In the world of public health, contract tracing is one of our best tools for combating epidemics \u2014 and it\u2019s far from a new concept. By identifying everyone who\u2019s come in contact with someone infected with a disease, we\u2019ve been able to reduce <\/span>sexually transmitted infections like HIV<\/span><\/a> and fast-moving contagions, such as Ebola during <\/span>Liberia\u2019s 2014\u20132015 epidemic<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Across the country and the world, cities and health departments are now ramping up their contact tracing programs in order to contain COVID-19. It\u2019s not an easy or a small task: New York City has hired <\/span>nearly 2,000 <\/span><\/a>\u201cdisease detectives\u201d for its program. Experts say that <\/span>more than 300,00 people may be needed in the US<\/span><\/a> to conduct contact tracing as the coronavirus pandemic continues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tracking down people who may have been exposed to someone who\u2019s tested positive for COVID-19 isn\u2019t just about keeping that person safe. <\/span>Data<\/span><\/a> suggest a COVID carrier will infect two to three other people, on average, which means it\u2019s important to compile lists of who should get tested after exposure. <\/span>One study in Shenzhen, China<\/span><\/a>, showed contact tracing and isolation of sick patients helped reduce community infection of COVID-19.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cContact tracing is a tried and true tool,\u201d says Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Houston\u2019s Harris County Public Health, where officials added 300 contact tracers at the end of May. That said, he adds, it\u2019s \u201ca labor-intensive and a time-consuming process.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about the process of contact tracing, and how you can help speed it up, if need be.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the first step in contact tracing?<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve tested positive for COVID-19, your positive test result will be passed on to your local health department, no matter where you get tested. Shah and his team get positive results daily from local hospitals, private labs and community testing sites, plus his department\u2019s own testing sites. \u201cIt\u2019s chaotic,\u201d he says. His team might receive just a name and a date of birth, or a name and gender. Information is inconsistent and may not come with contact details like a phone number. It\u2019s the contact tracer\u2019s job to track down the person behind the positive COVID case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who will get in touch with you, and how?<\/h2>\n

Typically, an <\/span>epidemiologist or senior contact tracer reaches out to the positive COVID patient. <\/span>The purpose of the call is twofold: to educate the infected person about the coronavirus and precautions they need to take, and to find out who they\u2019ve been in contact with and may have gotten sick.<\/span><\/p>\n

You might be asked questions like where you ate lunch, how you got there, if you have a dog and, if so, where you’ve walked your dog.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That conversation might last anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. Harris County\u2019s newly hired contact tracers include both paid workers and volunteers, from public health and medical school students to retired residents to people who are out of work because of the pandemic. In New York, <\/span>out-of-work librarians<\/span><\/a> have come on as contact tracers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of people that want to give back and help with this public health mission,\u201d Shah says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When a contact tracer reaches out, your caller ID might show the call is coming from your county or city health department, but not necessarily. If you don\u2019t pick up because you don\u2019t recognize the number, the tracer will leave a message.<\/span><\/p>\n

What kinds of questions will you need to answer?<\/h2>\n

The contact tracer will confirm the information they\u2019ve gotten from the lab, like your name and date of birth. They want to make sure they\u2019re talking to the right person, says Tashrik Ahmed, <\/span>associate faculty member at the <\/span>Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and not divulging private health information to another household member. The tracer will then ask questions about your symptoms, when they started, when and where you first got sick, and if you\u2019ve been hospitalized for COVID. The goal is to try to pinpoint the first day symptoms started. Then they\u2019ll help you reconstruct everywhere you went in the prior two weeks and make a list of who you were in contact with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most difficult part of the interview,\u201d says Ahmed, \u201ctrying to remember where you went.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might be asked questions like where you ate lunch, how you got there, if you have a dog and, if so, where you’ve walked your dog.<\/b> Contact tracers are most interested in \u201cclose contacts,\u201d which are most commonly defined as someone you\u2019ve been within six feet of for 20 minutes or longer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The usual suspects are housemates, coworkers in close proximity or anyone who joined you for a night out or a meal,\u201d Ahmed says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What happens next?<\/h2>\n

Typically, a junior contact tracer takes over, reaching <\/span>out to those people on the positive case\u2019s list. These calls start with the tracer confirming your identity. Then they\u2019ll let you know you\u2019ve potentially been exposed to the virus, but they won\u2019t tell you who may have exposed you to COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTheir biggest job is to give you information and resources on how to isolate yourself properly,\u201d Ahmed says.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll get basic information about the virus, and the tracer will ask if you\u2019ve had any symptoms. If you have symptoms, you\u2019ll be asked to self-isolate and get tested. If you don\u2019t have any symptoms, the tracer will ask you to get tested and explain how to monitor symptoms by checking your temperature and watching for cough or shortness of breath. They\u2019ll suggest that in the meantime, you diligently use a face mask and social distance. Close contacts should self-quarantine for two weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If just one person the original case was in contact with ends up testing positive, then \u201cthat starts the whole cycle over again,\u201d says Shah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Contract tracers typically follow-up with the people they\u2019ve called, but the frequency varies, Ahmed says. The gold-standard is to call and follow up once every day until the person is done with quarantine, he says, but given the scope of the pandemic, that\u2019s not feasible. Most tracers are following up once or twice a week, but give contact information if you want to reach out yourself with questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

For large venues the COVID-positive patient visited, tracers work directly with the venue to put out a notification\u00a0to their patrons, and they might also help the business identify further contacts.<\/span><\/p>\n

What kind of training do contact tracers get?<\/h2>\n

Many health departments are using <\/span>a Johns Hopkins Coursera class<\/span><\/a> on contact tracing to screen potential new tracers. The course includes basic information on <\/span>the epidemiology of COVID-19 and an introduction to contact tracing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

People who pass the course and get hired then get additional in-person and online training on topics like how the disease spreads, the incubation period, ethics, HIPAA and customer service. In Harris County, new contact tracers shadow experienced ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

What if you’re worried about sharing personal information?<\/h2>\n

A contact tracer will never ask you for sensitive personal information like your social security number, financial or banking information or your legal status.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your identity and your health information are kept private and won\u2019t be shared with anyone. Data is entered into a secure system and will only be used by your local and state health departments.<\/span><\/p>\n

What else should you know about contact tracing?<\/h2>\n

With states reopening, some businesses might ask customers to provide information in case a contact tracer reaches out because of a confirmed case. For example, some restaurants are <\/span>now asking customers to write their name in a log<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tech companies are also working on <\/span>contact-tracing platforms<\/span><\/a> that could track whether a user was near someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Phone owners would have to individually download the app first.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shah says that contact tracing is an important tool in helping contain COVID-19, but it\u2019s not the only one. \u201c<\/span>We have to rely on our community for preventative measures,\u201d he says, like mask-wearing and social distancing. \u201cThe best thing in the world is for our contact tracers and epidemiologists not to have a high workload because people in the community are heeding preventative measures.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Ready to book a doctor’s appointment? Visit Zocdoc.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This labor-intensive process is one of our best tools for combatting epidemics. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":18749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[149],"class_list":["post-18748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","tag-covid19","reviewer-dr-nassim-assefi"],"yoast_head":"\nHere's How Contact Tracing Works - Guides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This labor-intensive process is one of our best tools for combatting epidemics.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Here's How Contact Tracing Works - Guides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This labor-intensive process is one of our best tools for combatting epidemics.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Paper Gown\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-16T15:17:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-21T19:48:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"968\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"452\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deborah Lynn Blumberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dlblumberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deborah Lynn Blumberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Deborah Lynn Blumberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c6efa9a81bbed65690f8cab9265d5efc\"},\"headline\":\"Here’s How Contact Tracing Works\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-16T15:17:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-21T19:48:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/\"},\"wordCount\":1420,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png\",\"keywords\":[\"COVID-19\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Guides\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/\",\"name\":\"Here's How Contact Tracing Works - Guides\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-16T15:17:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-21T19:48:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"This labor-intensive process is one of our best tools for combatting epidemics.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png\",\"width\":968,\"height\":452,\"caption\":\"Kelsey Tyler\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Guides\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/category\/guides\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Here’s How Contact Tracing Works\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Paper Gown\",\"description\":\"Stories for and about patients\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Zocdoc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png\",\"width\":2059,\"height\":1049,\"caption\":\"Zocdoc\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c6efa9a81bbed65690f8cab9265d5efc\",\"name\":\"Deborah Lynn Blumberg\",\"description\":\"Deborah Lynn Blumberg is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer specializing in health and wellness and business and finance. Previously a reporter for Dow Jones\/The Wall Street Journal, she's also written for publications including Barron\u2019s, The Christian Science Monitor and Newsday.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/deborahlynnblumberg.com\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/@dlblumberg\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/author\/deborah-blumberg\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Here's How Contact Tracing Works - Guides","description":"This labor-intensive process is one of our best tools for combatting epidemics.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Here's How Contact Tracing Works - Guides","og_description":"This labor-intensive process is one of our best tools for combatting epidemics.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/","og_site_name":"The Paper Gown","article_published_time":"2020-06-16T15:17:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-21T19:48:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":968,"height":452,"url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Deborah Lynn Blumberg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@dlblumberg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deborah Lynn Blumberg","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/"},"author":{"name":"Deborah Lynn Blumberg","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c6efa9a81bbed65690f8cab9265d5efc"},"headline":"Here’s How Contact Tracing Works","datePublished":"2020-06-16T15:17:28+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-21T19:48:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/"},"wordCount":1420,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png","keywords":["COVID-19"],"articleSection":["Guides"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/","name":"Here's How Contact Tracing Works - Guides","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png","datePublished":"2020-06-16T15:17:28+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-21T19:48:30+00:00","description":"This labor-intensive process is one of our best tools for combatting epidemics.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/HEROCONTACTTRACER-01.png","width":968,"height":452,"caption":"Kelsey Tyler"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/heres-how-contact-tracing-works\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guides","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/category\/guides\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Here’s How Contact Tracing Works"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/","name":"The Paper Gown","description":"Stories for and about patients","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Zocdoc","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png","width":2059,"height":1049,"caption":"Zocdoc"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c6efa9a81bbed65690f8cab9265d5efc","name":"Deborah Lynn Blumberg","description":"Deborah Lynn Blumberg is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer specializing in health and wellness and business and finance. Previously a reporter for Dow Jones\/The Wall Street Journal, she's also written for publications including Barron\u2019s, The Christian Science Monitor and Newsday.","sameAs":["http:\/\/deborahlynnblumberg.com","https:\/\/x.com\/@dlblumberg"],"url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/author\/deborah-blumberg\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}