Photo credit: Ashkan Forouzani

First, I have to take a moment to say -Thank you to all of the healthcare professionals for their service during this time. You have sacrificed and given so much of yourselves as you stay true to your commitment to healing patients and saving lives. I've had my ups and downs with medical professionals over the years but I have to give credit where credit is due.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! ♥
 

Concerning doctor appointments, I expected things would be very different with doctor-patient interaction during this whole Covid-19 situation. I had a lot of questions such as:

• Would doctor/patient relationships change?
• Will exams would be rushed?
• Would patient questions/concerns still be met? 
• How social distancing would work? 
• Would I be examined from inside a plexiglass box? (kidding)

The Cornea Clinic

Last month (June 9th 2020) I saw the Cornea specialist. This appointment had been scheduled a year earlier, due to the pandemic I thought it was going to be cancelled but the clinic started seeing patients again in June. This appointment was my one year follow-up exam since cataract surgery.

Honestly I have to say that I didn't notice that much of a change in the service I received. There were of course changes due to safety such as everyone having to wear a mask and the waiting time. My appointment was at 9:00 a.m. so the process started at exactly 9:00 a.m. as I did not have to wait in the waiting area. In fact there really weren't but a couple of patients in the waiting area. 

The only other change I noticed in the exam room was that the slit lamp had a plexiglass shield, which was expected. The technician, the doctor's assistant and the doctor were all still very courteous and I didn't feel like the examination was rushed. 

The doctor's exam didn't seem faster than usual, but all he needed to do was check my cornea which never takes long at all. He told me that my eye had improved greatly and then the exam was over. My time at Cornea clinic is usually about an hour, but at this visit it was about 40 minutes.

The Retina Clinic

Earlier this week (July 8th 2020) I saw my ophthalmologist. I originally had an appointment with the retina clinic in March but due to the pandemic it was cancelled, so before my June appointment I hadn't seen an eye doctor since October 2019. 

It had been a total of 9 months since seeing a retina doctor which is a long time for me because my appointments with the retina clinic are usually every 4 to 6 months.

In the retina clinic there were absolutely no patients in the waiting room and I was taken to an exam room as soon as I arrived. The ophthalmic technician took her time with her part of the exam then I was sent to photos/scan. The technician was pretty decent and they really can't rush their job anyway. Later I saw the ophthalmologist who's always courteous as well as thorough. 

I did notice a difference in this visit. My visits to the retina clinic usually takes about 1.5 hours to 2 hours according what needs to be done, including waiting time. This time the entire process took an hour.

For both appointments I didn't have a feeling of being rushed, and a shorter process was expected, but during one of the appointments I didn't address any of my concerns about my vision due to not wanting to take up any extra time even after the doctor asked if I had any questions. It just didn't seem like the right time to bring up a concern that might require a lot of time to discuss. It wasn't a question that needed immediate attention though I've been trying to get better at addressing my concerns with my doctors especially since I always encourage family, friends and clients to ask their doctors questions. But I'll be better prepared next time.

All together I was satisfied with the service I received and glad I was to finally see my doctors again. I hope other doctors visits, the dentist for example, go as smoothly.

Photo by Mika Baumeister

The only thing I can say right now - which is pretty much what everyone else has already said -Things are looking very uncertain at the moment. Like many people I wonder when life will get back to normal but from where I'm sitting it doesn't look like it will be any time soon as children continue their education from home through virtual learning and many work remotely or not at all due to the pandemic.

Personally, I've been working from home while trying to keep myself, as well as my family, entertained and sane. Like everyone else I'm adjusting to the fact that this is now our "normal." We are living a "new normal" and the only thing we can do is the best we can to endure these changes; the lock down, the social distancing when we're out, the mask wearing - all these things, though frustrating, to keep ourselves and others around us safe.

An additional thing I have to do is keep my vision safe. Actually everyone should be doing that. Since I've been at home so much, I've been spending a lot of time on my phone and computer. My usage of both has increased due to work as well as boredom. I haven't had any issues with my vision, which is great, and I certainly don't want to create any issues, but I am concerned about vision issues that have no warning signs because who knows when I'll be able to see an eye doctor again.
 

I also wonder what the plan is for patient care going forward from all of this. Out of curiosity and partial boredom I've been watching live streams where doctors discussed future possibilities of patient care. I've heard talks about tele-medicine, virtual clinics using Artificial Intelligence (AI), and even the possible use of plexiglass cases to examine patients, but what I haven't heard in those particular meeting are questions/concerns from patients. I understand that doctors are the professionals as well as the ones providing the service, BUT patient concerns, especially during this time, are also very important and should be apart of the discussion concerning patient care. But that's just my opinion.

I know that at this point no one has any solid answers as to what things will look like in the coming months but I do hope in this new normal, as life resets, businesses plan to re-open, and the plexiglass goes up, that we keep in mind the total needs of those we serve.