The Process Of Seeking Medical Care During The COVID-19 Era
The Coronavirus pandemic has been challenging for most businesses, which have been struggling to make ends meet. Fortunately, the one industry that everyone can rely on during the COVID-19 pandemic has been health care. The cost of doing business increased drastically and incomes have dropped.
However, we provide an essential service so we are managing okay; we are grateful for that.
Throughout this pandemic, everyone has to do their part and assist with stopping the spread of the virus. Currently, we are relying on technology to deliver care to our patients and as much as possible, doing this through video conferencing, phone, and text messages. Of course, in-person visits are a must, although we are not always in favor of them but handle them if they are a necessity. We are more than happy to help anyone in need of help, and cannot be picky about whether we meet in person or not as we are in the middle of a pandemic and we provide the assistance they need.
The number of people who we deal with has significantly dropped. Most individuals and businesses have to deal with additional expenses like increased sanitization and the use of personal protective equipment. We have started spending a lot fewer hours when it comes to in-person encounters, but we make up for it through video and phone calls. Overall, the care that we provide to all of our clients is the same.
While we were so used to meeting our clients in person in the past, we are now working on adapting to and getting used to using video conferencing software, texting and phone calls to and from patients is another part of the work that we handle. Our in-person encounters are significantly lesser, but we do them whenever necessary.
As much as we would like to work remotely, that is not a privilege we have in our industry. We do try to push for most of our work to be handled remotely, but when we do not have that option, we split the work 60/40 between remote working and meeting clients in person.
Remote working comes with distractions and cannot replace in-person encounters. We prefer staying away from office spaces as they make staying safe a challenge because we don’t know if the patient we see has the Coronavirus or not.
When it comes to coordinating with any of our clients, we are open to working online through OTN, Medeo, or Zoom and over the phone whenever they cannot get through a virtual meeting. We always want to provide them with the best experience and are open to taking part in virtual public events and business expos if the opportunity arises.
We do a lot of our work at a clinic, and fortunately, we have a lot of space, which spreads out across several rooms. We also ask patients to wait in their vehicles, so we call them as we free and sanitize the space. Overall, we focus on everyone washing hands and using sanitizers. Masks must be worn by everyone entering, and surfaces always disinfected with Lysol.
We have reduced the hours that we spend working. Initially, we used to work from 9 am to 7 pm, but have now started a new shift from 9 am to 5 pm,.or 9 to pm depending on the need.
We have been using the Ontario telemedicine network before the pandemic, and are still using the same platform. It seems to be serving the purpose, and we cannot handle any more work, so we are sticking to the same one.
We are open for in-person meetings considering everyone follows the right rules and protocols. The people we’re interacting with, no matter what, have to wear masks. We do not greet with handshakes. We will not see patients with COVID-19 symptoms in person as they should go to the emergency room if not doing well, get tested, or stay home if they are positive but have no symptoms.
COVID-19 has taught us many lessons. It made us value the essential services more than ever. It brought our four adult kids home for months, which is something we cherish because it would have never happened unless they are on vacation, and that’s usually two weeks at a time. It made us realize that we can do a lot from home and a lot of what we were doing was not essential. It will forever change the way we do business and the way most companies do business. It forced us to pay more attention to hygiene and understanding the means of transmission.
If you are ever feeling under the weather, or you want to get yourself checked since you are not feeling too well, please feel free to connect with us at VIP Medical Centre. We are a Family practice and walk-in clinic that can handle most of the medical procedures for a check-up. Our clinic is available for scheduled appointments, online booking, and walk-ins during the day, evenings, and weekends. If you are looking to get a better understanding of the services we provide, please go through them by clicking here. If you want to get in touch with us for a conversation or want to come in for an appointment, please click here.