When you are practicing physical distancing in the era of COVID-19, determining whether or not you should visit your health care provider to manage chronic orthopedic conditions is difficult. Here are some of the options you have for orthopedic care during the pandemic.
Log In for Your Health
Thanks to telemedicine services, you can receive the orthopedic care you need from the comfort of your home.
New and existing patients alike have online access to orthopedic specialists for routine care and follow-up appointments. Each orthopedic appointment will follow the same format that an in-office appointment would. The only difference is that you are at home instead of your doctor’s office.
During the telehealth visit, your doctor can review your medications, observe how you are moving and check in to find out how current therapies are working. Your doctor can also prescribe new medications if necessary and place orders electronically. This is also the time when your provider may design new plans for physical therapy you can do at home, if necessary.
There is no additional charge associated with a telemedicine visit. Each appointment will be billed the same way that an in-office visit would be.
Going to an In-Person Visit
If you require an in-person appointment or simply aren’t interested in telemedicine, it is still safe to visit the office for an in-person appointment. All University of Maryland Medical System locations are doing everything necessary to keep you safe, including:
- Requiring everyone, from staff to patients, to wear a mask
- Providing eCheck-in before appointments instead of patients having to check in at the front desk
- Instituting temporary visitor restrictions
- Screening staff and patients for coronavirus symptoms
- Reconfiguring spaces to allow for social distancing
- Frequent cleaning and sanitization
