GPs switch to telepaths. How will they work now?

From March 12.03, educational institutions, universities, cinemas, theaters and other cultural centers are closed in Poland. These are preventive measures in connection with the spread of the coronavirus in Poland. Family medicine clinics and clinics also need to adapt to the new reality. Some of them have completely or partially transferred to the so-called telemedicine.

Telepaths for primary health care patients

– Yesterday they called me from the clinic with the information that due to the epidemiological threat they were canceling visits to internists and paediatricians. The lady asked me why I was supposed to be visiting and offered to make a teleconference with the doctor – this was the information that Aleksandra from Lublin received yesterday.

This is the result of the recommendations received from the Chief Sanitary Inspector for institutions operating under the Primary Healthcare and Night and Christmas Healthcare to offer patients the so-called teleports, i.e. consultations by phone or videoconference.

One of the centers that introduced only telemedicine advice is Luxmed Lublin. On their Facebook profile, we can find information that from March 11.03, GPs, primary care physicians and paediatricians provide advice only by phone. For the sake of the safety of its patients, Luxmed also suspended admitting healthy children to scheduled vaccinations until the end of the week.

On the website of the National Health Fund you can find a list of facilities providing teleportation by voivodship. It is worth getting acquainted with it.

Patients are, however, concerned by the fact that teleporting cannot always replace an on-site visit. – I wanted to go with the kids so that the doctor could see if their eyes were healing well because they had conjunctivitis. But if someone with something more serious, how would they diagnose it? He will not listen to him or look at his throat, Aleksandra worries.

Teleporter for chronic patients

The teleports will be used not only by the patients of POZ clinics, but also by patients of oncology, cardiology and neurology clinics, who are under the constant care of specialists and require periodic checks.

As stated in its announcement by the National Health Fund, thanks to television we can reduce the risk of the spread of the coronavirus and ensure greater safety for patients and medical staff.

What to do when you get sick?

What if we feel unwell and need medical advice? If we suspect that we may have contracted the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus by contacting people from the epidemic areas, under no circumstances should we go directly to the HED or primary health care facility. If symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath appear, we call the National Health Fund: 800 190 590. The hotline is open XNUMX hours a day. There we will obtain information on how to proceed.

What to do if we feel worse, have a cold, or need a prescription for drugs that we take chronically? Here, we also recommend staying at home and a telephone consultation. Before we go to the clinic, let’s call the facility to find out how the services are provided. During teleportation, you can get recommendations on how to deal with the disease, e-prescription, e-release or a suggestion of a direct visit to the facility, if necessary.

You can also get teleportation from the pediatrician, if it’s not us, but our child is sick. After collecting the interview over the phone, the doctor will decide on the next steps. It is also worth remembering that most institutions also carry out home visits.

Stay calm. The most important information about the coronavirus:

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2. How to effectively disinfect your hands?
3. Beware of counterfeit COVID-19 drugs. It is a threat to health and life
4. Seniors and the coronavirus. Important questions for the geriatrician
5. Allergy, Flu or Coronavirus? Symptoms can be confusing