Spokane seems to be working its way back to more routine days and more routine health care as the COVID pandemic fades from front-page news. Many people delayed care during the pandemic. Demand rebounded as people came back to their doctor’s office to catch up on routine health care needs such as cancer screenings, minor surgeries, wellness exams and immunizations.
Today, getting care doesn’t just mean making an appointment and driving to the doctor’s office. In fact, many of your health needs can be handled at home with something called “telehealth” – a convenient way to get care with just your mobile device or computer.
With an increased demand for care, it is important to understand your options. There are a lot of different access points available to get the care you need aside from a direct face-to-face appointment with your primary care provider.
One of the most important things you can do to improve ease of access and communication between you and your health care team is to take advantage of technology or develop some degree of computer literacy or smart phone access if needed. These devices can allow you to access your medical record through a secure portal, re-order medications, review test results, and send messages to your health care team.
It’s important to understand that your primary care provider is not “going away.” You can have in-person appointments even if you are also using technology and virtual health. It’s still very important to schedule that annual wellness visit to connect and review your comprehensive health care needs.
