COVID -19 OFFICE POLICY, PROCEDURES & HOURS
Office Policy
Since March 20, 2020 our practice has moved to a strictly Telemedicine patient appointment model. In light of the current threats we face and given all the information available, we have decided that what follows is the most prudent approach to pursue for the benefit and safety of our patients and staff.
Office Procedures
Our primary office in Princeton, NJ is our only location currently staffed. There will be a maximum of 2 (two) personnel at this location at any time. They shall consist of an office administrator, (either Catherine, Cindy or Marisa), available Monday through Friday (see COVID-19 office hours below) and our registered nurse, Adria Trapani-Barnacz. She will be available on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and will be conducting telemedicine appointments. Our medical director, Dr. Fernandez, is also conducting telemedicine appointments from a remote location on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays. He will come into the office on Wednesday and Saturdays to deal with office matters that must be handled personally. Our nurse practitioner, Uche O’Keem, will also be conducting telemedicine appointments from a remote location on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
We are using the platform, Doxy.me to conduct secure, HIPAA compliant telemedicine sessions with patients. Patients are emailed instructions and a link to each clinicians’ secure URL waiting room (“Queue”) where they check in 10 minutes before the scheduled appointment. This process will be very similar to coming to our office. They will be greeted by the administrator, who will confirm that the audio and video is working on both ends. Patients will be placed back in the Queue until the clinician invites them in. After the session, the patient will be placed back in the Queue until the administrator checks them out. Check out procedure will include scheduling a follow up appointment, confirming where medication orders will be sent and confirm credit card payment information. Medications will be electronically prescribed to the patient’s pharmacy, fee slips, and credit card receipts will be emailed to the patients for their records.
At patient requests, we are also conducting phone sessions for those patients unable to use the Doxy.me platform. When the staff member calls to confirm the appointment, the patient will provide a phone number for the clinician to call the patient at the scheduled appointment time. We ask patients to be available to answer when the clinician calls. These calls may be a few minutes delayed from the appointment start time. We will use Google Voice numbers to call patients from remote locations to protect the clinician’s personal phone numbers.
Our clinicians use metrics (clinical scales) to measure symptom improvement. For those patients directed to complete clinical scales, they will be emailed directly to the patient. We are in the process of creating fillable pdf versions of these scales, as well as implementing a secure file retrieval and delivery service.
Because our staff is preforming their duties in several different locations, patients may experience a delay in having their questions or concerns addressed. Please be patient while we are trying to address all questions and concerns in order of urgency. All patient concerns will be addresses in a timely matter.
Medication Refills
We ask that patients be mindful of their medication supplies and not wait until the last moment to request a refill. Our office policy on ordering controlled dangerous substance (CDS) medications, especially stimulants, has recently changed as a result of recent state and federal regulations regarding CDS prescribing and the COVID- 19 pandemic. We require 3-4 business days to (electronically) refill CDS medications. As such, we ask that patients call and request CDS refills at least 4 days prior to needing them. The best way for patients to request a refill is to contact their pharmacy and they will reach out to our office with the request. If that is not an option, the patients can call the office (609) 419-0123 directly and either speak to a staff member or leave a voice message with the request.
COVID-19 Staffed Office Hours
Monday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Since March 20, 2020 our practice has moved to a strictly Telemedicine patient appointment model. In light of the current threats we face and given all the information available, we have decided that what follows is the most prudent approach to pursue for the benefit and safety of our patients and staff.
Office Procedures
Our primary office in Princeton, NJ is our only location currently staffed. There will be a maximum of 2 (two) personnel at this location at any time. They shall consist of an office administrator, (either Catherine, Cindy or Marisa), available Monday through Friday (see COVID-19 office hours below) and our registered nurse, Adria Trapani-Barnacz. She will be available on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and will be conducting telemedicine appointments. Our medical director, Dr. Fernandez, is also conducting telemedicine appointments from a remote location on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays. He will come into the office on Wednesday and Saturdays to deal with office matters that must be handled personally. Our nurse practitioner, Uche O’Keem, will also be conducting telemedicine appointments from a remote location on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
We are using the platform, Doxy.me to conduct secure, HIPAA compliant telemedicine sessions with patients. Patients are emailed instructions and a link to each clinicians’ secure URL waiting room (“Queue”) where they check in 10 minutes before the scheduled appointment. This process will be very similar to coming to our office. They will be greeted by the administrator, who will confirm that the audio and video is working on both ends. Patients will be placed back in the Queue until the clinician invites them in. After the session, the patient will be placed back in the Queue until the administrator checks them out. Check out procedure will include scheduling a follow up appointment, confirming where medication orders will be sent and confirm credit card payment information. Medications will be electronically prescribed to the patient’s pharmacy, fee slips, and credit card receipts will be emailed to the patients for their records.
At patient requests, we are also conducting phone sessions for those patients unable to use the Doxy.me platform. When the staff member calls to confirm the appointment, the patient will provide a phone number for the clinician to call the patient at the scheduled appointment time. We ask patients to be available to answer when the clinician calls. These calls may be a few minutes delayed from the appointment start time. We will use Google Voice numbers to call patients from remote locations to protect the clinician’s personal phone numbers.
Our clinicians use metrics (clinical scales) to measure symptom improvement. For those patients directed to complete clinical scales, they will be emailed directly to the patient. We are in the process of creating fillable pdf versions of these scales, as well as implementing a secure file retrieval and delivery service.
Because our staff is preforming their duties in several different locations, patients may experience a delay in having their questions or concerns addressed. Please be patient while we are trying to address all questions and concerns in order of urgency. All patient concerns will be addresses in a timely matter.
Medication Refills
We ask that patients be mindful of their medication supplies and not wait until the last moment to request a refill. Our office policy on ordering controlled dangerous substance (CDS) medications, especially stimulants, has recently changed as a result of recent state and federal regulations regarding CDS prescribing and the COVID- 19 pandemic. We require 3-4 business days to (electronically) refill CDS medications. As such, we ask that patients call and request CDS refills at least 4 days prior to needing them. The best way for patients to request a refill is to contact their pharmacy and they will reach out to our office with the request. If that is not an option, the patients can call the office (609) 419-0123 directly and either speak to a staff member or leave a voice message with the request.
COVID-19 Staffed Office Hours
Monday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
We wish our patients well and ask that they Be Safe.
