COVID-19 ALERT - MUST READ Last Update: October 7, 2020 Dear Patients of Greenwood Medical Centre,
In response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, we wish to advise you of how we plan to manage this in our office. Your health, and the health of others remains our priority. Effective immediately, we may be reaching out to you to cancel non-essential in person appointments. In many situations we will be offering a phone or video consultation instead. We may also reach out to you via our secure health portal, Health Myself. Appointments that require physical examinations may be rescheduled. As patients, we ask that you help us minimize the risk of spread and we request that you please DO NOT come in to the office unless you have a confirmed appointment. We are asking everyone to wear a mask practice social distancing, which means we do not have people within close contact of each other where possible. We encourage you to practice this in your personal life as well, and wash/ sanitize your hands frequently and avoid touching your face. If you have travelled Ottawa, Toronto, Peel Region or outside Ontario in the preceding two weeks, or have been in close contact with someone who has, and have a fever (greater than 38 degrees) and/or cough and/or shortness of breath we ask you to please self isolate until 24 hours after all symptoms resolve. It may no longer be possible for us to test all possible mild cases. If you are experiencing moderate symptoms and are concerned about your health, you can now book online for an appointment at the Covid-19 assessment centre. Please DO NOT come to our clinic. Community Assessment CentreThe Community COVID-19 Assessment Centre online booking: Finally, we appreciate your patience as we understand this will put a strain on our phone system. If your matter can wait, we encourage you to defer contacting us. Otherwise we will do our best to respond to your call as soon as we can. This is an ever changing situation, and we will keep you posted as changes arise. We appreciate your assistance in keeping all the patients of Greenwood Medical Centre and our staff healthy and safe in these challenging times. Sincerely, Greenwood Medical Centre Physicians and Staff. Virtual Patient Care Consent Just like online shopping or email, Virtual Care has some inherent privacy and security risks that your health information may be intercepted or unintentionally disclosed. We want to make sure you understand this before we proceed. In order to improve privacy and confidentiality, you should also take steps to participate in this virtual care encounter in a private setting and should not use an employer’s or someone else’s computer/device as they may be able to access your information. If you want more information, please check the link www.kflaph.ca. If it is determined you require a physical exam you may still need to be assessed in person. You should also understand that virtual care is not a substitute for attending the Emergency Department if urgent care is needed. Are you ok to continue? COVID-19 is placing stress on Canada’s public health system. Our clinic is starting to offer virtual care to make sure that we can continue to care for our patients safely and effectively. This means that we will be using video and audio technologies for some patient visits rather than asking all patients to come into our office. Some of these technologies are provided by the Province. Others have been provided by vendors like Google, or Apple to help make discussions with your care provider as easy as possible during these difficult times. Some health concerns can be addressed with virtual care alone, but in some cases your doctor may ask you to visit a hospital or other health care facility if necessary, for a physical examination. We do our best to make sure that any information you give to us during virtual care visits is private and secure, but no video or audio tools are ever completely secure. There is an increased security risk that your health information may be intercepted or disclosed to third parties when using video or audio communications tools. To help us keep your information safe and secure, you can: • Understand that this method of communication is not secure in the same way as a private appointment in an exam room. • Use a private computer/device (i.e., not an employer’s or third party’s computer/device) and a secure internet connection. For example, using a personal computer or tablet is more secure than at a library, and your access to the Internet on your home network will generally be more secure than an open guest Wi-Fi connection. You should also understand that virtual care is not a substitute for in-person communication or clinical examinations, where appropriate, or for attending the Emergency Department when needed (including for any urgent care that may be required). If you are concerned about using video or audio tools for virtual care, you can ask our office to arrange for you to visit a different healthcare provider or other health care center where you can be seen in person. However, please note that visiting a health care provider in person comes with a higher risk of coming into contact with COVID-19 and the possibility of spreading the virus. By providing your information, you agree to let us collect, use, or disclose your personal health information through video or audio communications (while following applicable privacy laws) in order to provide you with care. In particular, the following means of electronic communication may be used (identify all that apply): videoconferencing (including Skype, Facetime, etc.).
This is the website for the Greenwood Medical Centre in Kingston, Ontario. We opened our doors in October 2010 and have four family physicians and one nurse working with us. Thank you, The Greenwood Medical Centre Staff & Physicians |
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