As a primary care physician at the Family Practice Medical Group of Pomona, I find life changed in the aftermath of the COV-ID 19 crisis. Due to the concern of patients of COV-ID 19 exposure, we use pre-screens, personal protective equipment and social distancing to keep our office environment as safe as possible for both staff and patients alike. Our medical assistants ask all patients, whether they are scheduled or add-on, the following questions as a pre-screen over the phone:
- Do you have a fever, cough or Shortness of breath?
- Have you been exposed to anyone diagnosed with COV-ID 19 at work or at home or another location ?
- Have you traveled to China, Iran, Italy, Japan, and South Korea during the course of this year?
- Have you worked in healthcare or another essential worker category without PPE?
If the answers to any of these questions are yes, we make sure that those patients have a negative COV-ID 19 test result before they come to our office. We also require that all patients who have passed the pre-screen wear masks in our office, and have arranged the chairs in the waiting room to allow for social distancing. Any staff who is in close contact with patients are required to wear masks. All physicians in our group wear masks and wash their hands before and during contact with patients. Due to these precautions, none of our patients have contracted Cov-Id 19 during this pandemic, and none of our staff have contracted Cov-Id 19 as well. I feel proud that our office is keeping our staff and patients safe.I felt especially happy as a health care provider, when on more than one occasion, patients have thanked me, telling me, “Dr. Karu , I really appreciate all that you and your staff are doing to help us feel safe. I feel that I can get the medical care I need in-person without worrying about catching cov-id 19, and I can’t say that about other places –including my dentist’s. At least I know I don’t have to stress out about coming here. “
At Family Practice Medical Group of Pomona , we are focused on helping the patient. In this era of Cov-ID 19, that includes making sure the patient’s safety is paramount. After all, our Hippocratic oath as physicians is “Primum non nocere”, which translates to “Do no Harm.”