Telemedicine: The Best Way to Diagnose and Treat Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is paralyzing life as we know it.
Travel has suspended, meetings and conferences cancelled, any type of large gatherings are discouraged whether for fun or religious worship. Colleges and universities are shifting to virtual classes. Even the NBA has suspended their season after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the virus. President Trump even banned non-U.S. citizens who recently traveled to European nations from enter the U.S. for a month to help reduce the spread of the Coronavirus.
These are all common sense measures as the virus continues to spread across the world – but what do you do if you get sick and need medical attention?
Should you go to an emergency room with dozens of other ill patients who may be contagious, go to a county health clinic or stay at home and take your chances?
What to do if you get sick?
There is a solution: Telemedicine
You may have heard about this new field of medicine but never experienced it. It may seem to high-tech or impersonal but, in reality, it can deliver the high-quality care that we need at this time. In truth, most medical visits don’t need to be face-to-face in a doctor’s office.
Diagnostic testing is so sophisticated that in many ways it has replaced good old-fashioned laying of the hands or the physical exam.
CASE STUDY
Stacey called our NYC based medical practice, Mitchell Medical Group, and informed the staff she was experiencing cold-like symptoms.
The staff set up a virtual educational visit with Dr. Dean Mitchell. On Skype, Dr. Mitchell conducted the visit with Stacey and noticed that her throat was red and she appeared ill. He recommended she go to the lab to get a cell count to check for an infection and blood chemistries to make sure her liver and kidney were functioning properly. He also sent her a nasal swab to check for 16 common viruses including influenza, RSV and parainfluenza.
It turned out Stacey had Influenza Type B when her swab results came back in 24 hours. Dr. Mitchell started her on Tamiflu for 5 days and she made a quicker recovery.
Hopefully, soon the the COVID-19 swab kit will be available as well. The nasal swab is relatively easy to do at home.
If Stacey had needed to be seen in our office we would set up a time for her to come in preferably when there is a low volume of patients such as lunchtime or after-hours. But in truth, her entire care can be done successfully through technology.
Bottom line: state of the art care can be done with our incredibly high-tech world.
Telehealth Patient Consultations
At Mitchell Medical Group, we have been offering virtual education consultations to patients all over the country to bring them the best holistic care for candida, food allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.
For now, we are offering our experience in infectious disease and immunology to our New York patients to make their lives safer.
About the Author – Dr. Dean Mitchell, M.D.
Dr. Dean Mitchell M.D. is a Board-Certified and Immunologist based out of NYC. He graduated from the Sackler School of Medicine and completed training at the Robert Cooke Allergy Institute in New York City. He is also a Professor of Clinical Immunology at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and the author of Allergy and Asthma Solution: The Ultimate Program for Reversing Your Symptoms One Drop at a Time. Dr. Dean Mitchell, M.D. has also been featured in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Fitness Magazine, Dr. Oz and News NY 1. Dr. Mitchell also hosts the podcast The Smartest Doctor in the Room – a combination of a lively, personal and in-depth interview with top healthcare specialists.