{"id":18948,"date":"2020-12-02T13:47:59","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T18:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/?p=18948"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:42:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T19:42:27","slug":"how-to-be-a-patient-during-a-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/how-to-be-a-patient-during-a-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be a Patient During a Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>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in this article was current as of publication, however, information changes rapidly regarding Covid-19 and may be out of date.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<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From wearing a mask to using your car as a waiting room, a visit to the doctor looks very different today than it did before March 2020.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The pandemic has forced doctors\u2019 offices to change how they operate, and with cases rising across the country, these changes are likely to be here for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While some appointments can be done virtually, many require in-person care. Patients shouldn\u2019t hesitate to see their doctor in the office, says <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Sterling Ransone, a family medicine doctor in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deltaville, Virginia, and<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt is safe to go see your doctor,\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> says. \u201cMost physicians\u2019 offices have a good regimen to keep patients safe. And especially if you have a chronic disease, it\u2019s really important to check in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can help make your in-person doctor\u2019s appointment both safe and efficient by following these expert-backed tips on best practices for going to the doctor during the pandemic:<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>1) Call ahead with your concerns. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf this is an office you haven\u2019t been to before, especially, don\u2019t be embarrassed to call and ask what specific precautions the office takes,\u201d says Dr. Erin Kershisnik, a family physician doctor in Olympia, Washington. While many doctors allow patients to wait in their cars before going to the exam room, others won\u2019t. If you don\u2019t feel comfortable spending time in what could be a busy waiting room, \u201cask yourself, how badly do I need this appointment right now?\u201d Kershisnik says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>2) Look out for a COVID prescreen. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you visit the office, your doctor will need to prescreen you for any potential COVID-19 symptoms, such as a loss of sense of taste or smell, fever or cough. Some doctors send their patients a brief written survey through the patient portal a day before the appointment, while others screen over the phone. Watchyour inbox for an alert about the screening, and make sure to pick up the phone if your doctor\u2019s office calls you ahead of your appointment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>3) Make sure your mask fits. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wearing a mask thick enough to muffle your speech can make it hard to communicate during your appointment, says Kershisnik. At the same time, you want a mask that offers good protection, and most importantly, fits. \u201cMake sure to have a mask that\u2019s comfortable,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you have a mask that you have to continually adjust, that\u2019s the worst. Find the right fit for your mask.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>4) Limit what you bring. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ransone instituted a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ofid\/article\/4\/suppl_1\/S34\/4293976\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cbare below the elbows\u201d policy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in his office, meaning staff don\u2019t wear long-sleeved clothing, rings, watches or other jewelry to work. That reduces the number of surfaces where the virus can <\/span>linger<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It can be good practice for patients too, he says.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to jewelry, consider leaving home items you might bring to the doctor normally, like your laptop, or definitely any meals or snacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>5) Ditch the gloves and carry hand sanitizer. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gloves give a false sense of security, says<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kershisnik, who prefers patients not to wear them to her office. Instead, use hand sanitizer stations at the office or bring your own sanitizer, and wash your hands with soap and water. You can also consider bringing a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/10.1056\/NEJMc2004973\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">copper<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> no-touch key device to use when opening doors or pressing elevator buttons. (Copper is an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3067274\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">antimicrobial<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> material.) But if you do, don\u2019t just throw the device back in your pocket where it could spread germs. Instead, clean it with a disinfectant wipe after each use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>6) Consider wearing glasses or a face shield. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/2769693\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">offer an extra level of protection<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, says Ransone,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> especially when having an in-office procedure or blood drawn, instances when you expect to be seated close to another person.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If you don\u2019t have prescription glasses, buy ones without a prescription or even wear a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses. \u201cEye protection is probably helpful,\u201d Kershisnik says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>7) Write down your symptoms and bring medications. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make your appointment more efficient, think about your symptoms before you arrive and even write them down.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This can help if your mask makes it hard for the doctor to hear you. Also, Ransone says, bring your medications with you. He\u2019s seen several patients prescribed medication at urgent care. Having the bottle on hand helped them remember the details of the drug.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>8) Come alone. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unless you truly need assistance, leave your kids or partner at home.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For patients who request to have their partners present, Ransone sometimes lets them Facetime into appointments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>9) Think about how you\u2019ll pay. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">offices now bill all of their patients to avoid touching credit cards. Others still take payment on the spot. In those cases, bring your own pen to sign when charging your credit card. If your doctor accepts virtual payment methods, such as Apple Pay, make sure your phone is charged before you leave the house.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>10) Ask for accommodations. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you need to see a doctor, but you\u2019re concerned their protocols aren\u2019t robust enough, ask if there are other ways to limit your exposure. Ransone has seen patients in their cars and others at a picnic table outside his office. \u201cIt\u2019s better ventilation,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you\u2019re not comfortable coming into the office, I\u2019ll see you in your car. Tree visits, car visits, audio visits, I\u2019ve done them all,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s whatever the patient and the physician feel comfortable with.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"s1\">Ready to book a doctor&#8217;s appointment? Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Zocdoc.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Best practices to follow at your next in-person appointment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":18953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[149,38],"class_list":["post-18948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","tag-covid19","tag-lists","reviewer-dr-nassim-assefi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Be a Patient During a Pandemic - Guides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Best practices to follow at your next in-person appointment.\" \/>\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\/how-to-be-a-patient-during-a-pandemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Be a Patient During a Pandemic - 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