What should your post lockdown healthcare checklist look like for you or someone you are caring for?
Setting priorities for your health to-do list should be based on your awareness of your risk from COVID-19. You should be aware of your own personal risk based on your age and medical conditions and do all that you can to mitigate your exposure. A few places to start:
- Make a list of your usual appointments or appointments that you assist a loved one with and prioritize those appointments that should be top-of-the-list. By making contact with each of your healthcare providers and finding the best and safest way to begin treatment and follow-ups again is a good first step to making your health a priority.
- Work with your health care team to reschedule doctor’s visits, screenings or any missed procedures. Most health care teams will work with you on a safe plan to return to your personal health care.
- If you are a heart patient, make sure you are staying in touch with your cardiology care team. During the pandemic, there has been a decrease, if not stoppage, of elective procedures that may have patients trying to suffer through worsening symptoms at home. Those tests might include cardiac caths, exercise testing, etc., and maintaining vigilant heart failure monitoring.
- Patients receiving cancer treatments have been one of the high-risk categories of patients who were asked to quarantine during the pandemic. The American Cancer Society recommends asking your healthcare team similar questions about resuming cancer screenings and exams, urging people to talk to health care providers about their personal situations and whether they’re having symptoms. Among the considerations: balancing the risk of the cancer being screened for against the risk from COVID-19, how involved the screening is, how common coronavirus infections are locally and what local officials advise, and precautions taken by individual medical centers to prevent COVID-19’s spread.
For the most up-to-date information regarding how to receive the best care from your specific provider based on need. Always start by connecting with your primary care physician or specialist. Here are a few other national resources for additional information:
For the most up-to-date information regarding how to receive the best care from your specific provider based on need, always start by connecting with your primary care physician or specialist. Here are a few other national resources for additional information:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
