Medical Care During the COVID-19 Crisis

Dear patients,

During these difficult times your health remains our highest priority. Following the most recent recommendations from the NYC Department of health and Centers for Disease Control we have changed our scheduling procedures.

We will remain open daily. We can be reached through office or answering service any time.
We will offer office visits from 9 am to 1 pm Monday through Friday. This is only for patients who have no fever or upper respiratory symptoms and who have not been exposed to anyone with corona virus within the past 2 weeks. You will be allowed to come with one other person who also should be symptom-free and not exposed to the virus. We have done everything possible to keep the office a safe place and our staff remains symptom-free. There should be less chance of contracting the virus by coming to the office than going to an Emergency Room or hospital. Those of you with medical issues or concerns should not hesitate to reach out to our office, This is especially important for our inflammatory bowel diseae patients and those on steroids or immunologic-altering agents.
Telemedicine As an alternative to traveling to the office we will now offer scheduled “telemedicine” visits With this technology we can continue to provide personalized attention and the most accurate possible medical assessment without you having to leave home.
- Scheduling. To schedule a Telemedicine appointment call our office and book a specific time before 5 PM for the call. You will be directed to a secure service “Backline” that requires no software download. At the time of your appointment you will receive a text message with link to Backline. As an alternative we can provide these virtual visits using Facetime. If you are not able to access these apps we can speak with you by telephone only. Many of your medical issues can be addressed in these ways.
- Billing. Thankfully many private and public health insurance companies like Medicare have now approved these telemedicine visits as billable, just as we would an office visit. If you have questions about cost, bills, or claims please reach out to our billing department.

Wishing you health and strength during this stressful time.

Drs. Rubin and Naymagon

Author

Peter H. Rubin, MD

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