As a doctor possibly facing a patient with the coronavirus on a daily basis, I struggle with the decision I’ve made for myself and my staff: Should I continue testing patients for the virus in my parking lot and test patients with no symptoms in my office?
Arizona is more infectious now than ever. On May 23rd we had a total of 15,608 cases. As of today, June 22nd, when I am writing this, we have 52,390 people who have tested positive for the virus. We have more than three times the cases in one month since “opening for business”. I am not one to brush the proverbial reality under the rug, so to speak, but look, Arizonians are not doing things right. As of today we are finally “required” to wear a mask out at the store, in the doctor’s office, and anywhere we may be in contact with others less than six feet apart. Yet, when I went to my chiropractor for my own medical need just today, I had to wait in line watching a patient breathe on the chiropractor’s staff at the check-out counter not wearing a mask. (I give anyone who comes near my office inside or out a mask to protect myself, my staff, and the “maskless” patient if the person is not wearing one.) I am flabbergasted at the ignorance people have of the medical facts not understanding about this very infectious Sars Cov-2 a.k.a COVID-19 virus.
But, I found out a nasty, mean reality from someone I tested and from some others… People don’t want doctors testing out in their parking lots for the virus let alone in the office as a precaution. It’s become a big problem for me as a practitioner with people begging me for testing and then when they hear I may have come in contact with a possible positive patient, they become mad at me! Of course, anywhere one goes for testing, the testers have, absolutely, come in contact with a positive COVID-19 positive person. It’s a numbers game that doesn’t fair well for the testers.
But for myself and my other doctor, we are very careful, wear full personal protective equipment at $20 a patient, and clean with strong disinfectants as we go along. But, it’s a risk, we know the risk, and we do it because we have people begging us for testing saying the drug stores and test sites have a week long wait list for testing. And what does a patient get at my practice for $75 a visit verses a free swab test at the drug store??? How about patient care and follow-up? Need a doctor’s note, that’s included, need some medication? That’s included…on and on for $75. But with this comes the reality that, yes, we have tested a few positive patients.
Now, I am being threatened, yelled at, treated like a pariah, and not just that, my own family is leery of coming into contact with me. With all of this, I have a strange want, hankering, and need to help those who are scared, confused, and wondering if they may have contracted the virus and need care. I am taking a few days to decide if I will continue to test. It would be nice to hear from you, the reader, what you think about doctors testing at their offices, inside and out. BTW, our techniques wearing our PPE and cleaning is working and keeping us safe from the virus. What are you doing to stay safe?
Please visit us at Mesa Dr.com on our website: you can schedule a telemedicine appointment, or call us at (480) 306-8111. We are located at 1955 N. Val Vista Drive, Suite 103, in Mesa.