COVID-19 Protocol
Highlights
- Heightened in-office precautions, patient distancing
- At home testosterone therapy via telemedicine available
- Primary Care via telemedicine for current patients and family
Overview
Given the current climate regarding the proliferation of COVID-19 in our communities, Men’s T Clinic is taking significant steps to accommodate our patients should there be a disruption to their daily lives and schedules and to make medical diagnosis and treatment available them and their family members should the need arise. The federal government and commercial insurance companies have temporarily relaxed standards for the use of telemedicine. Men’s T Clinic is aggressively upgrading technology to accommodate the needs of our patients through this newly available medium.
Patient Health and Safety is Our Priority
Our priority is first, the health and safety of our patients. To help, Men’s T Clinic is opening a telemedicine conduit to provide non-emergency primary care evaluation and management services to existing patients and their family members to allow families to receive basic medical services while in the comfort of their home. We hope this will help to reduce our patients’ and their family’s exposure to the COVID-19 population and to free medical centers to better serve the needs of the COVID-19 afflicted population.
Primary Care via Telepresence Details
We are making certain providers available to help with patients and their families primary care needs in this time of fear and uncertainty. These appointments are available on a first come first serve basis. They are billed through patient insurance in networks benefits. Patients will be responsible for the patient responsibility portion such as copays and/or deductibles. However, several insurance companies are offering waivers on copays regarding Covid-19 visits.
In-Office Injection Precautions
Mens T Clinic has instituted CDC guidelines regarding office sterilization, patient distancing and isolation. Traditional therapy and in office provider visits are still available, but with extra precautions. In addition, we are offering telemedicine visits with our providers for the safety of our patients and our staff in lieu of an in-office consultation. After the telepresence visit with a provider, patients can then come into the clinic in an expedited fashion to receive their injection, ideally the day after the patient has completed the telepresence visit.
At Home Testosterone Therapy
In addition, we hope to allow for uninterrupted testosterone therapy and treatment for our current patients who cannot leave or wish to remain in their home without compromising patient safety, reducing therapy effectiveness, or raising costs to our patients. To do this we are utilizing telepresence provider visits in lieu of the usual in-office consultation and shipping injections directly to the patient’s home. This will help to further increase the social distancing policy being sought nationwide.
Home Therapy Highlights
- Pre-drawn testo syringes with thin short needles for easy shallow subcutaneous injections
- $40/mo.(4 weeks) for shipping and syringe prep; we’ll cover the testosterone cost
- Regular telepresence visits at home prior to each injection are covered in-network and subject to no more than regular patient responsibility
- Blue Cross and Aetna have waived copays for a limited time
- $50 missed appointment fee
Home Therapy Details
We have worked with a pharmacy that has agreed to formulate a special testosterone for our patients, that will allow for much smaller and shorter needles for subcutaneous injections. The pharmacy will ship the medications directly to patient’s home ready to go. In the package, patients will receive 4 syringes that are pre-drawn to their specific dose. Each package is created individually for each patient. Our providers will assist patients with “self-injection” instructions, and a preprinted thorough explanation of the injection process. The cost to each patient will be $40 for preparation and shipping. MTC will pay for the testosterone medication, to assist in alleviating some of the financial burden for our patients.
Telepresence Visits
As part of the ongoing patient care, weekly follow ups with an MTC provider will be paramount. We still need to be certain that the progress is going well, the symptoms are resolved, and the injections themselves are not causing issues. As part of this new arm of the MTC patient care experience, patients will be required to participate in “telepresence” medical visits prior to each self-injection. These visits will occur at the same interval of normal patient injections and will fall under the patient’s in-network benefit structure. The cost to patients will be no more than their regular visits and in some cases the cost will be less. The provider visit will be through our telemedicine portal, a video telepresence application, or even a phone call. Ideally our telemedicine portal will be the main medium of communication, but with the amount of uncertainty right now, we want patients to know there will be options to accommodate all circumstances. It is vital that patients participate in these visits as scheduled. Testosterone can be a volatile hormone when unchecked, and we need to be certain that patients continue their normal visits via telepresence with a provider. Due to the risks associated with issuing a controlled substance, in a syringe, and with a needle attached, we are required to keep close tabs both medically and legally, on our patients. A $50 missed appointment fee for failure to appear on scheduled telepresence visits will be charged to patient credit cards on file if they miss a scheduled appointment or fail to reschedule in advance of missing the appointment.
Patient Portal
Providers will also be available via the patient portals to answer questions or concerns patients might have regarding ongoing heath issues or other items which might arise. Patients can register for the patient portal on our website www.menstclinic.com > Patients > Patient Portal. We appreciate your patience with our team as we rush to iron out the technology and process kinks. It is our goal to not only help to improve the lives of our patients but to help to relieve the burden on the healthcare system so that others might have the same opportunity for improvement.