Don’t go the doctor if you fear you’ve got COVID-19; call 755-2268 instead.
An expert, local assessment of flu-like symptoms could be as close as the smart phone in the palm of your hand, your tablet or a video conference on your laptop computer.
TeleMedicine, a video chat with a local, licensed urgent care medical professional, was launched Tuesday by Baya Urgent Care in Lake City. The company is urging people who think they may have COVID-19 coronavirus symptoms, or something as simple as a common cold or the flu, to utilize a video chat with a clinician at their facility to assess their symptoms before leaving their home.
The video chat portal is available at: bayaurgentcare.com.
Baya Urgent Care owner and pharmacist Carl Allison said the move to ramp up the company’s TeleMedicine offering came after an emergency meeting with local medical professionals called by the Columbia County Health Department Monday afternoon.
“If someone has the coronavirus, thinks they have been exposed to it, or are showing symptoms that may seem like they have coronavirus, they should CALL their doctor or a clinic or a healthcare provider first,” Allison said. “They should NOT just walk up in the clinic.”
If someone randomly walks into a clinic or doctor’s office unannounced and tests positive for the virus, they run the risk of forcing the clinic to go on lockdown, plus the medical staff and the other patients waiting in the office to all be quarantined with the sick person, Allison said.
The Tele-Medicine portal allows a sick patient to chat with a trained clinician who can quickly assess their situation and advise them what their ailment most likely is. The medical professional also can recommend further testing for flu or other ailments or a course of treatment that would include electronically sending a prescription for medication to the pharmacy of the patient’s choice.
“This is a tool to help the elderly who might be sick or anyone else be treated in a timely, efficient manner, without subjecting them to sitting in a long line at a clinic or an emergency room,” Allison said. “When someone is sick, especially if they are immune-system compromised, the last place they need to be is sitting in an office in a stressful situation, around a bunch of sick people.”
Allison said the TeleMedicine option is not for emergencies or urgent care visits for things like joint sprains or possible broken bones. Symptoms for common colds, flu, sinus infections, allergies and other bronchial ailments are some of the qualifying ailments.
If a patient does show symptoms of COVID-19 coronavirus, Allison said the patient would be given immediate and specific instructions on what to do next to receive proper testing to confirm exposure. They also would be given very specific instructions on how to self-quarantine to keep the virus from spreading, Allison said.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Allison said the health department told medical providers there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in Lake City or Columbia County.
“We have a very specific set of guidelines for very specific symptoms and other things to ask people who utilize this,” Allison said. “We can screen them and help them, hopefully eliminate some of their fears and help them along. We can let them know if they need to come to the clinic or go to their physicians office. They can get an exam, a diagnosis, care plan and instructions.”
Allison said most of the TeleMedicine video calls to Baya Urgent Care take 15-20 minutes. The technology is not new, but with the emergency facing the region and many patients uneasy and uncertain about symptoms, he felt the need to launch the software following the county health department meeting.
Several health insurance companies have been known to offer services similar to this, but if clients utilize the service, they are talking to practitioners sometimes thousands of miles away and in different parts of the country.
“We do it right here in our office,” Allison said. “You’re talking to trained local people, right here in Lake City. This is our people handling this. It’s not a company we hired. We are answering your questions.”
On Tuesday, Allison said Medicare had approved paying for TeleMedicine visits for its clientele, as had most private insurance carriers in hopes that people would utilize the video conference appointments rather than risk an in-person visit to an urgent care clinic or doctor’s office. Allison said the service is also available at the cash price of $80 per visit. For the link and the information on how to utilize the service, visit bayaurgentcare.com or call (386) 755-2268.