BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE SEES INCREASE IN VIRTUAL PATIENT VISITS
As COVID-19 continues to affect the region, Baylor Scott and White’s “virtual” patient appointments have begun to exceed in-person visits.
Dr. Eric Alford, a family physician at Baylor Scott and White – Brenham Clinic, said Baylor Scott and White is putting much greater emphasis on its telemedicine services, a broad term for virtual ways to provide care for patients. Telemedicine services are available by phone, by e-visit through the MyBSWHealth app, or by video visit.
Dr. Alford said visits are being classified into essential and nonessential, meaning a patient simply coming in for a regular wellness checkup will likely be asked to reschedule their visit or convert it into an electronic meeting. On the other side, someone experiencing significant pain that they are unsure of the reason for will still need to be seen in the emergency room. Dr. Alford said Baylor Scott and White will still try to keep non-emergent patients out of the emergency room if at all possible.
Dr. Alford said the Baylor Scott and White – Brenham region encompasses Brenham, Bellville, Hempstead, and surrounding counties. He said the organization has consolidated its clinics, so the Bellville Clinic has temporarily closed, but Bellville providers are still seeing their patients through predominantly video visits. He said those patients can also be seen if necessary at a face-to-face meeting in Brenham.
According to Dr. Alford, Baylor Scott and White’s two clinics in Brenham—the Highway 290 clinic and the Brenham Clinic on North Park Street—have been separated in their responsibilities. The first floor of the 290 clinic is seeing patients with respiratory symptoms that are deemed necessary for a face-to-face visit, while the third floor has a team of physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners dedicated to performing virtual visits. Meanwhile, the Brenham Clinic is seeing essential non-respiratory patients.
Dr. Alford said he is appreciative of the response telehealth services have received locally.
To access telehealth services, call the Brenham Clinic at 979-337-5800, download the MyBSWHealth app through Apple iTunes or Google Play, or text “BETTER” to 88408. Dr. Alford said anyone experiencing acute symptoms will likely still need to visit Baylor Scott and White’s Emergency Department, but all other cases are strongly encouraged to use what he calls the “digital front door”.
Dr. Alford said drive-thru testing for COVID-19 is available at the 290 clinic, but noted that those looking to get tested have to be screened beforehand to determine if they are considered a high risk and meet testing qualifications. If they do, an order will be placed so they can get tested. Dr. Alford said the turnaround time to get test results back is currently 48 to 72 hours, but hopes as rapid result testing becomes available, the restrictions on testing qualifications become more relaxed so more people can be tested.