Tremaine Fredericks rides on an empty Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan on Tuesday in New York City.
Topline: As confirmed coronavirus cases rise to more than 55,000 in the U.S. alone, medical professionals are encouraging people who may suspect they are mildly ill with something that’s not coronavirus to stay home and to only seek treatment in a facility if it’s an emergency— here’s how to judge what you should do.
- Healthcare professionals say mild illnesses are fine for healthy people to treat themselves at home if it’s not an emergency that requires medical attention, like a broken bone, concussion, stroke or heart attack— it could help the U.S. hospitals facing bed shortages.
- Leigh Vinocur, a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians, told Forbes most health systems are telling their primary care physicians to do telehealth services to connect with non-emergency patients during the pandemic.
- If you’re feeling sick, call your usual doctor if you have one, Vinocur said, and talk to them about your symptoms before you go into the office— they’ll offer guidance on the best step to take next.
- If you don’t have a doctor, many urgent care clinics are still open and are equipped to handle most illnesses with mild symptoms, but still call ahead, Vinocur said.
- People should seek immediate medical attention if they begin to experience terrible chest pain, dry cough, fatigue —to the point others are having trouble raising them, Vinocur said— show a bluish tint to their lips, or are so out of breath they can’t finish a sentence without taking a breath.
- For healthy, younger people with no underlying conditions, mild respiratory symptoms can be treated as they usually are at home with supportive measures like drinking plenty of fluids and rest— continuing to self-quarantine is a safe option if their symptoms remain mild.
Key background: This month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid lifted HIPAA-related restrictions, allowing doctors to connect with patients with apps like FaceTime and Skype for telehealth appointments— CMS also expanded services that can be reimbursed; office, hospital and other doctor visits via telehealth can now be reimbursed through Medicare. Rich Fogel, a chief clinical officer at Ascension, a nationwide healthcare organization told Forbes they have seen “a dramatic increase” over the past two weeks of patients requesting online care through their system to treat maladies including urinary tract infections, sinus and eye infections and seasonal allergies.
Crucial quote: “What people are being told [about seeking medical attention] is very confusing. Right in the middle of cold and flu season, and on the cusp of allergy season! There’s a lot of sneezing going on. Right now, if you sneeze in public, you’re a pariah,” Vinocur said. “Until we find an antiviral or vaccine [for coronavirus], everything we’re doing at the hospital are supportive measures too. All of those things you usually do at home are okay to do now if you aren’t high risk.”
Tangent: If you’re in need of immediate medical attention, go— it’s not worth staying at home during an emergency because you’re concerned about contracting coronavirus while being treated at the hospital.
“I think people are afraid, even in the best of times, about hospital-acquired infections. You worry about communicable diseases even in healthy times,” Vinocur said.
However, spanning back to even before the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals and health facilities are mindful about keeping common areas clean and separating patients with symptoms of contagious illnesses from the rest of the population.
“They’re doing a fairly good job of making sure they’re not putting a sprained ankle next to a guy sneezing and coughing. Those people are isolated,” Vinocur said.
