BETHLEHEM, PA - In the midst of a Coronavirus crisis, patients are seeking telehealth services now more than ever.
"It gives a much more personal and appropriate discussion between the patient and their physician," explains James Balshi, MD.
Telemedicine companies across the country are reporting unprecedented volumes of patients wanting to use their remotely accessible services. Health officials are encouraging patients with suspected coronavirus symptoms to audio or video call rather than possibly infect others by physically visiting a doctor’s office or emergency room. Here in the Lehigh Valley, St. Luke’s University Health Network is advising the same.
"We have thousands of patients experiencing the seasonal flu and that clearly has been a burden on our emergency rooms," says Balshi, "And now we’ve placed this additional nationwide pandemic on top of the normal volume of patients that we’re trying to take care of. What we want to do is assure patients that don’t need to be at an urgent care or in an emergency room around other sick patients, to stay home. And this is truly the major benefit of any technology whether it’s a phone call, an online screening tool."
Chief Medical information officer, James Balshi and PBS39 News Tonight reporter, K.C. Lopez video conferenced today. Lopez sat in the PBS39 studios in Bethlehem while he checked in from one of St. Luke’s six area hospitals; where staff is experiencing an uptick in virtual evaluations. But Balshi says, in a situation like this, that’s a good thing.
"We’ve been trying to follow the CDC guidelines and get a general level of calm; both within our employee group and within our patients. We’ve had a lot of contact with patients calling into the organization. We’ve had people that are utilizing our technology for televisits that’s been available for years now," Balshi tells Lopez, "We’ve been able to get patients calm and get them reassured that if they need to be seen, to be tested for COVID19 or if they can stay at home, they feel comfortable with the plan that we give them."
Video visits with St. Luke’s doctors typically see as many as three hundred patients each month; treating colds, coughs, allergies, infections and the flu. But now, their coronavirus helpline received over a thousand phone calls over the weekend. Doctors are virtually connecting with patients and screening for COVID19.
"First we ask about travel exposure. Although that has become less of a concern because we know people that haven’t traveled have now become exposed to the virus. In addition to that, we ask about exposure in the family. Have you been around patients who are sick? Have you been around anyone who is known to have COVID19? In addition to have we take the patient through their symptoms; we look at whether they’ve had cough, whether they’ve had runny nose, whether they’ve had fever. And then we can access are they at further risk because maybe they’re 75 or 80 years old. Are they a patient who has previous lung disease? Are they someone who is immune depressed meaning they may be taking medications to depress their immune system for other reasons? Are they a cancer patient? These are all things that help guide us to what should this patient do at this moment and do they need to be seen by another professional in an urgent way?"
While St. Luke’s Care Anywhere services are being used primarily for current patients to check in with their primary care physicians, anyone looking for information and guidance concerning COVID19 are urged to call St. Luke’s 24/7 telephone and email hotline at 1-866-STLUKES, that’s 1-866-785-8537 option 7, or email coronavirus@sluhn.org
"I think every patient needs to understand that we will get through this," Balshi reassures, "This is something that if we take the measures that the government has recommended to heart and we really do practice social distancing, that we hand wash, that we take care of our general health, we can really make a big difference in suppressing the spread of this virus and allowing our economy, our community and our social world to get back to its normal life."
"And what better way to practice social distancing than through something like this right?" asks Lopez.
"Absolutely! We are plenty far away from each other through this technology and yet we can have a very intimate discussion."
Lehigh Valley Health Network also provides telehealth technology that allows thousands of their patients the benefits of specialized care remotely. Patients can visit MyLVHN.org to complete an e-visit or call their nurse information line at 1-888-402-LVHN.
Got a news tip? Email K.C. at KCLopez@wlvt.org
