As you must have noticed, medical offices and hospitals during the time of COVID-19 have postponed or canceled most non-urgent visits, tests, and procedures. This has meant a massive backup in patient care and we have tried to reach many people by telephone. Phones are not ideal for movement disorders, however. It helps for us to see your tremor, dyskinesia, or what have you. Fortunately, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved virtual appointments with video. This means that if you have a smart phone, tablet, laptop, or a computer with a camera, you can probably have a virtual office visit with your healthcare provider from own home.
I am not sure what platform every office in the state is using. MaineHealth (including my practice recently) is using Zoom, an app (application) that you can download onto your device. I am sure many of you are familiar with this, as it is being used all over the country for other types of virtual meetings (offices, families, and so on). I understand that some Parkinson’s support groups are even meeting by Zoom. If you are not familiar with this app, it is free (on the end user side) and very easy to download. On iphones visit the App Store, on Android phones visit the Play Store, and if using a desktop computer go to https://zoom.us/download to download the software.
We are not sure when we will be back to normal office scheduling, and there is still a risk of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 in our state, especially when people congregate. In order to avoid a second wave of cases we are planning on trying to gradually reintroduce safe office encounters, but it is going to come along in stages, and there may be a long delay. One thing we want to avoid at my office right now is a group larger than ten people, or a failure of social distancing, which would occur if all five doctors starting booking full appointment days in the clinic again. A video “telehealth” appointment is a good way to see your provider for now without that risk. And, that technology is likely here to stay. The genie is out of the bottle, so to speak. Further, becoming comfortable with this software would mean that you too could visit love ones with the computer or your phone. So, put aside your computer discomfort, embrace the future, and get ready to meet virtually.
