03/19/2020
Beach Cities Dermatology offices are open.
POSTED: 3/18/2020 - Wednesday
We are calling all patients individually and asking them these questions:
"Are you experiencing any fever, chills, cough, sore throat or sneezing, have you traveled recently (either abroad or to other high-risk areas) in the last two weeks, or have you been in close contract with anyone who has/is experiencing symptoms or have traveled outside the country?
If so, we reschedule, or we see patients who answer the questions affirmatively in a back room, with a mask and gloves, and do not use the room the rest of the day. (We have not had any patients who were themselves sick, but have seen one suture removal patient who had been around a person who traveled to impacted countries, not traveled themselves.)
We block every other waiting room seat.
We are having only one provider in at a time, as much as possible, and SPREADING out our patients, not consolidating as others have done, so that people don't encounter each other, as much as possible.
Telemedicine is not an option for dermatology.
We alternate exam rooms.
We clean every room, every patient, and we wipe down our pens and other potential "vectors".
Patients do not sign in...no pens to patients.
We leave the reception door open, so air circulates and nobody has to touch the handle.
We have a line on the floor before the receptionist, and patients should not cross the line to get closer than 6 feet to the receptionist without answering the questions again.
