How healthcare is changing to keep people safe

As anyone who has gone to a clinic or hospital in recent months knows, the pandemic is changing how healthcare is delivered. Healthcare facilities of all types and sizes are taking new steps to keep patients and staff from getting COVID-19.

“We all understand that COVID-19 is not going away, and so what we are all trying to do is adapt to the new normal so that we can limit exposures in the hospital and to healthcare workers,” said Julie Sprunt, M.D., FACS, a breast surgeon with Texas Breast Specialists in Austin, Texas.

Some of the new safety strategies that healthcare facilities have adopted include:

Screening for COVID-19 symptoms

You are asked over the phone before a medical appointment and when you arrive at an appointment whether you have COVID-19 symptoms, have been in close contact to someone with COVID-19, or are waiting on an outstanding COVID-19 test result.

Some facilities ask these questions and take each person’s temperature with a thermal scanner at the door, before they go into the building.

Universal masking

At many healthcare facilities, everyone — patients and staff members — must wear masks all the time.

More use of telemedicine

Many more medical appointments are taking place through telemedicine, either by phone or online video, instead of in person. Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurers are now covering telehealth visits. Some insurers are waiving co-pays and deductibles for some visits.

Still, it’s important to know that, depending on the regulations in the state where you live, there may be some limitations on seeking a second opinion or setting up ongoing care through telemedicine with a doctor in a different state. You may need to get a written referral from a doctor in your own state, or you may be unable to get a consultation from a doctor who is not licensed to practice in your state.

Physical distancing

To prevent people from being too close to each other, healthcare facilities have started adding more time between appointments, having people wait outside or in their cars instead of in waiting rooms, and seating people further apart at infusion centers.

COVID-19 testing before surgery and chemotherapy

Every person who is scheduled for surgery is now required to get tested for COVID-19 beforehand. If you test positive, your surgery will be postponed, even if you don’t have any COVID-19 symptoms. This is to protect the surgical team from being exposed to COVID-19 and to protect you from the risk of having surgical complications because of COVID-19. Some medical centers are also testing people for COVID-19 before they receive chemotherapy treatments. If you test positive for COVID-19, it’s likely that you won’t receive chemotherapy until you’re re-tested and have a negative result. This is to protect you from developing serious COVID-19 complications when chemotherapy has weakened your immune system.

Shorter hospital stays

After surgery, many people are being sent home earlier from the hospital than they would have been in the past. Some people are sent home on the same day they have surgery, while others may spend only 1 or 2 nights in the hospital. This reduces the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 at the hospital. Shorter hospital stays also free up hospital beds and other resources that may be needed for people with COVID-19. It also allows people to spend more of their recovery with their loved ones, since visitors may not be allowed at some hospitals.

Care that surgeons used to provide in person after surgery is often being provided through telemedicine now. For example, surgeons are using video calls to check incisions for signs or symptoms of infection and to coach patients through removing their own surgical drains.

Limiting visitors

Some people have not been allowed to bring anyone with them when they go into a clinic, hospital, or infusion center, and visitors are sometimes not allowed during hospital stays. Exceptions have been made for people who need a caregiver to go with them to an appointment or procedure because they have cognitive problems or severe symptoms. “Unfortunately, it’s a lot to ask to somebody with breast cancer to not have someone spend the night with them in the hospital,” said Dr. Sprunt.

From www.breastcancer.org