Just because there’s a global pandemic doesn’t mean that all other illnesses have disappeared. People are still getting GERD or acute gastroenteritis. They are still sneezing because of hay fever. They are still coughing because of more common causes such as tuberculosis. There are reports of people suffering from unrelated diseases–stroke, heart attacks, or surgical emergencies being refused admission at hospitals filled to bursting with COVID patients. And how about those with chronic diseases with maintenance medications–those with hypertension, diabetes or COPD who are unable to renew their prescriptions?
Not only are they forced to stay at home because of the ECQ, but almost all of the outpatient clinics are closed anyway.
It is because of these problems that a lot of us doctors have turned to Telemedicine. It is, of course, not as good as a face-to-face consultation with a hands-on physical exam at the clinic–otherwise we would have done it this way a long time ago! But it is much, MUCH better than nothing. At least this way, we can continue to follow-up our patients; we can fulfill their simple medical needs and refill their prescriptions; and more importantly, we can stop their chronic health problems from getting worse so that they won’t need to go to the hospital where they face the specter of contagion.
I guess you can call us the BACKLINERS. It is neither as dangerous nor as heroic a job as that of the FRONTLINERS, but I think that we have a role in the healthcare system too. We are the support group. The ones behind the scenes. And like the frontliners, we are also here to help in any way that we can.
Waiting to Exhale: Lung Doc on Call 