Dr. Ranganath worries about the mental health effects of the pandemic and the disruptions it will have on healthcare providers and staff. She’s also concerned about clinical trials, which are now on hold. “How will we bounce back? If staff are at home and unable to recruit patients, how will we continue?”
Dr. Ranganath tries to take a mental health walk around the area every day. “Or I walk around our house,” she says. “I tell the kids, we have to do a certain number of laps around the house. I have three kids at home, and although they’re a little older, they still expect to be fed, even if I’m working and doing conference calls.”
Suleman Bhana, MD, FACR
Family Life
In New York’s Hudson Valley, Suleman Bhana, MD, FACR, a rheumatologist at Crystal Run Healthcare, says it’s not only a challenging time for healthcare providers at work, but the pandemic has also had a significant impact on their families.
“It’s complete societal disruption,” says Dr. Bhana, who works for a large, multi-specialty group that has taken a proactive, organized approach to the crisis. “We have been aggressively screening any person who enters one of our medical buildings, including patients and anyone who accompanies them. We ask them a series of screening questions for COVID-19, including about travel, symptoms they’ve experienced or direct exposure to a person who has tested positive for coronavirus. If they answer yes to any of them, they’re not allowed in the building.”
His practice has switched to telemedicine for follow-up appointments, but still sees patients for other examinations and laboratory tests. Dr. Bhana also says payers are now reimbursing his clinic’s telemedicine appointments at the same level as regular office visits, which was not the case in the past. He is working at his clinic five days a week to conduct both telemedicine and in-person appointments, and most of his staff is still working in the office. However, he’s changed his usual attire.
