May 28 2020

Keeping Your Wellness Check Appointments During the Pandemic

Raleigh Medical Group, P.A. General Posts, Wellness Doctors

You know a wellness visit is important. It’s a time to assess your risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. It also allows us to establish ongoing, effective treatments as members of your health care team.

During COVID-19, many things changed.

It transformed the way we practice medicine and the way we interact with patients. We know this time has been stressful as classrooms have gone online, working from home has become the norm and uncertainty rages from the daily headlines.

But your annual wellness check is still very important.

In fact, it’s so vital to your overall health, that we encourage you to keep your appointment. You may still be worried about going to the doctor’s office for fear of catching the coronavirus.

We want to put your mind at ease–our staff goes to great lengths to continue to keep you safe. We’ll look at some of our new safety protocols as well as why we still want to see you for your annual physical.

Ways We Keep Patients Safe From COVID-19

We want to assure you that we have the latest, reliable information on COVID-19. We use this information to guide all of our decisions. In response to the pandemic, we’ve put the following protocols in place:

MASKS OR FACE COVERING FOR ALL VISITS

This follows the CDC recommendations and aligns with community requirements. All patients, and any family members who accompany them, must wear a mask and/or a face covering.

Why? Our reason is twofold: First, it decreases the chances of cross-contamination. Second, it decreases the requests for our PPE (personal protective equipment). Like many medical practices throughout the country, this material is in short supply.

ALL PATIENT TREATMENT ROOMS ARE THOROUGHLY DISINFECTED

We have always practiced safety when it comes to eliminating cross-contamination. Now, we have taken our diligence to an entirely new level. You can rest assured that this dramatically reduces your chances of catching anything, whether it is COVID-19, the flu or another airborne illness.

WE OFFER TELEHEALTH VISITS

All of our existing patients can take advantage of these virtual office visits which are conducted via ZOOM. Telehealth is perfect for all visits except for those certain emergent conditions.

Some of the things we can easily do through telehealth include:

Follow-up on medications or refills
Answer questions about your care
Discuss lab or test results
Provide details related to your care plan

While this may be appropriate for some wellness visits, for others, we would like to see you in our office.

RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES ARE SCREENED THROUGH TELEHEALTH

If you have a respiratory illness or are showing signs and symptoms related to COVID-19, we will meet with you virtually through the ZOOM app.

WE OFFER DRIVE-THRU COVID-19 SCREENINGS

For those who meet the appropriate criteria, we will have drive-thru screenings.

Annual Wellness Visits: Vital to Your Health

Diabetes. Heart disease. High blood pressure. High cholesterol…

… the list of chronic diseases goes on and on.

A wellness visit is much more than a mere checkup; it helps us pinpoint areas of your health that may need further attention. In some cases, preventative measures can prevent diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. These appointments also allow us to start a treatment to prescribe medicines to help with these conditions.

Delaying treatment can put you at higher risk for heart attacks, strokes or other serious complications.

Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Wellness Exam

ASK QUESTIONS

This is a great opportunity for us to have an in-depth conversation about your health. It may help to write down your questions before your visit, so you won’t forget any important ones.

REVIEW YOUR HEALTH CARE GOALS

You set goals for your career, why not set goals for your health care? Whether that means eating better, losing weight or keeping your blood pressure under control, we are ready to work together with you to help you reach these goals. We want you to have the healthiest life possible.

TAKE NOTES

We encourage you to take notes so that you can refer to them later. In some cases, it may help to have a support person on hand to help you remember our instructions.

TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

Ask about what health screenings you should have in light of your family history. If you don’t know your family history, we encourage you to talk to your parents and relatives so you can get a clearer picture of your overall health.

Face-to-Face Appointments Are Still Available

Remember that face-to-face appointments are still available at Raleigh Medical Group. While the coronavirus has changed every aspect of our lives, we want to be sure that you realize our dedication to your safety will not be compromised.

In addition to our telehealth option, we extensively clean patient areas, require anyone who enters the building to wear a mask and we screen those who have COVID symptoms virtually. If they need a test for the coronavirus, it is given at a drive-thru, so these patients never enter the building.

Your health is far too important to overlook your annual physical, and as internal medicine physicians in Raleigh, we’re uniquely qualified to provide a wide scope of care.

If you’d like to schedule an appointment, you can contact us or reach out through the secure patient portal.