Increasing Access to Care during Pandemic
OurHealth quickly adapted to meet the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic without disrupting the level of care our patients expect by implementing a national virtual care program.
In less than 10 days, we went from 90% in-person appointments to 90% virtual and our care team made personal calls to more than 60,000 patients to check in and offer help.
Today, patients can see providers, behavioral specialists, or health coaches nationwide either in person, by video or telephone, eliminating the need to delay or defer their care.
By delivering care according to patient preference, we’re able to serve our patients and communities when and where they need it most. Keeping patients comfortable and safe are critically important to us.
Amidst the pandemic, patients continue to face the same health issues and concerns that they always have and as a result of the pandemic we’re seeing a rise in mental health cases. Unfortunately, many patients are putting off health visits due to COVID-19 – national trends suggest a decline in patient demand around 30%. They’re doing so out of a concern for their safety as well as making tradeoffs due to financial or time constraints.
Healthcare systems as a whole have had to shift the ways providers are able to provide essential and necessary care in order to minimize the potential risk of patients and healthcare workers contracting COVID-19.
Continuity of care is critical in order to avoid the consequences related to delaying preventive, routine, or chronic conditions. With care delivery options, such as virtual care, appointments are more readily accessible, especially for those who might be medically or socially vulnerable.
Many aspects of our lives were put on pause when the pandemic hit earlier this year. Patient health, however, does not need to be put on pause with the accessibility of virtual care and a connection to providers they know and trust.
Here’s what we’re doing in our health centers to ensure the safety of our patients and care teams:
- Every member of our care team is required to complete a COVID-19 symptom screening and self-attestation form every day.
- Masks are required for everyone in our health center.
- No visitors are allowed with patients, unless in the case of a minor being seen.
- To reduce patient overlap and improve physical distancing, we’ve added more time between appointments
- We separate ill visits from well visits by time of day.
- Health center staff disinfect all surfaces between visits to avoid any contaminated surfaces.
Within the manufacturing industry, social distancing can sometimes be a challenge – for work activities where this is the case, consider limiting the duration of these activities and/or implementing a safe approach to keep employees at a distance from each other. This might mean temporarily moving or repositioning workstations to create more distance or installing barriers (e.g. plexiglass shields) between workstations. Discourage employees from sharing tools when possible and equipment and educate employees on how to clean equipment before and after use. This should be done whether or not employees are sharing equipment. Promote personal hygiene – if workers do not have access to soap and water for handwashing, provide alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol.
The construction industry offers its own set of challenges and specific considerations. To the extent that tools or equipment must be shared, as with the manufacturing industry, discourage employees from sharing tools when possible and provide/instruct workers to use alcohol-based wipes to clean tools before and after use. When cleaning tools and equipment, workers should consult manufacturer recommendations for proper cleaning techniques and restrictions. Keep in-person meetings (including toolbox talks and safety meetings) as short as possible, limit the number of workers in attendance, and use social distancing practices. Clean and disinfect frequently touched items (e.g. door pulls and jobsite toilets) frequently. Hand sanitizer dispensers should also be filled regularly and proper hygiene practices encouraged.
For the package delivery workforce, it is important to minimize interaction between drivers and customers by leaving deliveries at loading docks, doorsteps, or other locations that do not require person-to-person exposures. Along with this, discouraging workers from using other workers’ vehicles, tablets, and other equipment or educating workers on how to clean equipment, is something that should be considered as well.
For retail workers, a major part of the job is interacting with store patrons and customers. For this reason, special considerations should be taken to account for this. Whenever possible, limit customer volume and practice sensible social distancing, maintaining six feet between co-workers and customers. Demarcate six-foot distances with floor tape in checkout lines. Workplaces where social distancing is a challenge should consider innovative approaches, such as opening only every other cash register, temporarily moving workstations to create more distance, and installing plexiglass partitions. Use a drive-through window or curbside pick-up where necessary and be sure to provide workers and customers with tissues and trash receptacles.