To enhance patient safety, beginning Monday, March 23
Tennessee Medicine & Pediatrics will be seeing Sick patients only in our Murfreesboro office and Well patients only in our Smyrna office. Patients
currently scheduled are being contacted and notified of the location changes.
If you have questions, please contact us at 615-459-7104.
We know that the last few weeks have been very stressful for
all. Incomplete and sometimes contradictory reports have painted many different
pictures of Coronavirus and its impact on our families, communities, and
country.
The physicians of Tennessee Medicine & Pediatrics take
this illness seriously and are taking thoughtful actions to protect our
patients, staff, and one another:
1)
Patients complaining of cough/fever/shortness or
breath are being screened by a nurse prior to coming to the office for an
appointment. We are discouraging walk-in appointments with respiratory symptoms
that have not been screened by a nurse. Mild symptoms in low-risk patients are
being provided advice for self-care at home.
2)
Patients with a fever/cough/shortness of breath
are being provided masks upon check-in and will be taken immediately to a
treatment room for evaluation.
3)
Enhanced disinfection of clinical areas is
already underway and will be expanded as the situation requires.
4)
Active measures are in place to identify the
well from the sick at the check-in scheduling and check-in stages to minimize
accidental exposures.
5)
Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) is already
available to staff and will be used when working with patients with respiratory
symptoms. This includes gloves, masks, goggles, and gowns as appropriate. The
N-95 respirator is not clinically indicated in typical outpatient settings.
6)
COVID-19 testing has become more readily available
and is being utilized according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Public
Health Department guidelines. While the current office-based test takes several
days and is for higher risk individuals, we anticipate more rapid and wide
spread test availability soon. Truly suspect cases are being identified and
referred directly to public health for more rapid testing according to current
protocols.
7)
The office is exploring alternate visit types
for patients including in-home visits, telemedicine encounters, and expanded
web-portal evaluation and management.
8)
Deferment of noncritical visits (annual
physicals, well child exams, routine follow ups for blood pressure/diabetes
etc.) are being encouraged wherever feasible while ensuring patient safety.
Please keep in mind a few facts:
1)
Most children and healthy adults have low risk
of complications. Individuals at increased risk of complications include the elderly,
those with heart disease, chronic lung disease, suppressed immune systems, and
diabetes.
2)
In the short term, increased testing
availability will increase reported rates of infections, but will also drive
down the reported complication rates due to more accurate overall numbers.
3)
Self-isolation as well as
community/state/national efforts at containment of viral spread will see
infections rates improve.
4)
The best way not to get sick is to not become
exposed. Avoiding large social gatherings, working from home as feasible,
limiting unnecessary travel et cetera, all will help
5)
Be fastidious. Diligent and frequent handwashing,
limited touching of public surfaces, avoidance of touching the face with
unwashed hands, and covering one’s cough are but a few of many easy measures to
protect us all.
6)
This illness will be controlled. Fear and panic
will accomplish nothing. Reach out to friends, family, and neighbors. Many may
need psychological, social, childcare, or financial support during this
difficult time. America is the greatest nation to ever exist. Times like these
allow us to prove it.
7)
Our healthcare system is the most innovative and
robust in the world. Medication for the very ill and a vaccine to protect the
masses will be forthcoming.
The impact of this virus has been incredibly emotional for
each of us. The experts in virology, epidemiology, vaccine development and the
pharmaceutical industry have been given a mandate by our government to address
this outbreak aggressively.
Updates to this outline will be regularly added as the
situation unfolds. The physicians of Tennessee Medicine & Pediatrics have
worked hard to gain your trust and we will not let you down.
early if you are a new patient, or if you need to update your insurance information. We appreciate your promptness, as it helps keep our appointments on schedule. Please be aware we may need to reschedule you if you arrive more than 20 minutes late for your appointment. If you need to cancel an appointment, please give at least 24 hours notice to avoid no-shows and allow for more patients to be seen.
Emergency Issues
We provide emergency coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you call our office number, you will be connected to our automated answering service. Please leave a brief voice message and the system will
page the emergency on-call provider who will return your call as soon as possible.
Our physician’s admit patients to both St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital and StoneCrest Medical Center. If you develop symptoms such as severe chest pain, difficulty speaking, weakness in a limb, excessive bleeding, serious injury, or loss of consciousness, call 911 immediately for an ambulance and have someone notify the provider on call by calling our office number.