more on supply than on evidence. And that’s frustrating. I know
I’d like to wear this mask, or I’d like to have this gown, but because
of the shortage they want me to use the other mask and not use
up those gowns.”
While many facilities now have access to UV lights to help sanitize
masks, Dr. Huecker urges physicians to still conserve when
possible. Being mindful of not throwing away anything you might
be able to recycle or reuse is still extremely important, as cases
are still showing steady numbers. He also reminds us that as this
disease continues to be a part of our lives, we can’t let down on the
precautions already in place.
“I think it’s about staying vigilant for the entire shift. It’s so easy
to slip back into the routine and how we usually do this stuff,” he
said. “As soon as you do that, you expose 20 people to a sick patient.”
While the country is struggling to find PPE, we are fortunate that
the technology being used in practices around the world reinforces
what we already know: medicine is always moving forward. While
many practices have started using telehealth for the first time, Dr.
Huecker and his team have found other ways to integrate technology
into the patient experience.
For example, they are using tablets for translation with non-English
speaking members of our community. According to 2019
Census data, 9.4% of the Louisville population speaks a language
other than English at home. The use of these digital translation
services have been crucial in getting the patient history and physical
completed in a fast, efficient manner during initial exams. In addition
to tablets, the team is also using cell phones to communicate with
patients while maintaining social distance.
“We have about 10 or 12 iPhones that we’ve been using. The iPhone
is on a stand and can be wiped down, and we put it in the room
with the patient and caregivers. Then we use a good ole fashioned
speaker phone. So the phone is in the room with them, and they are
hands free and can talk while we are outside the room.”
Communicating in this way allows them to get the patient’s
medical history while not necessarily being in the room with them.
However, Dr. Huecker’s team took it one step further and used a
piece of technology that many of us use on a daily basis to stay in
touch with family and friends.
“We do have the ability to FaceTime,” he said. “We haven’t used
it as much but we've been implementing these iPhones that can be
in the patient room so that we can take a history and start on the
physical exam via FaceTime. With that, you can see someone’s face
and skin tone, eye movement and stuff like that.”
While these have been a great asset, they are still looking for
additional measures they can put in place: patient intercoms, smart
glasses (wearable computer screens with microphones), baby monitors,
etc.
TECHNOLOGY IN MEDICINE
Given that he has had time to reflect on the impact of COVID-19,
Dr. Huecker suggests that maybe this is the time for us all to reexamine
what we consider priorities, in both the personal and professional
settings. “With all this extra family time, maybe when we go back,
we restructure a little bit to open up more time to spend with family.”
He and his colleagues in both hospitals and other specialties in
private practices are concerned with where their patients are and
how they are doing during this pandemic. He urges physicians to
stay in touch. “It’s important to keep up those relationships with
your patients even though we can’t be in the same room. Offer some
kind of telehealth if you can. Also, it may be time to reassess a lot
of other things professionally. Things like how much of this stuff is
important, what priorities do I have, and when we go back, how can
we restructure the clinical environment to reflect those priorities?”
While considering these plans for the future, we must also focus
on our present. He says we must make sure to remain vigilant and
keep up the same protective protocols we’ve had in place thus far.
With patience, we will get through this together.
Kathryn Vance is the Communication Specialist at the Greater Louisville Medical
Society.
JUNE 2020 11