MIDDLETOWN, N.J. (NCC NEWS) – New York University Langone Internal Medicine Associates in Staten Island, New York used an online meeting format for patients as it remained closed for two months, according to Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Paul Gazzara.
Gazzara says the office closed back in early April due to the coronavirus pandemic. He conducted meetings at home in Middletown, New Jersey. Over the course of the shutdown, online meetings became the only way for patients and doctors to meet.
Gazzara says the new method seemed easy at first but as the number of patients increased it became tiresome.
“As we started doing more of them it became more tedious,” Gazzara said. “It was a bit of a transition.”
When the office reopened in early June, online visits remained an alternative option to in-person visits, according to Gazzara. He says the method allows himself and the staff to remain flexible and reach out to patients who may be in quarantine.
He believes the choice of virtual appointments opens up a back up plan if virus cases increase again.
“We still continued to do some of the virtual visits which we were not doing prior to covid,” Gazzara said. “That’s been a benefit because at least we know we can fall back on that if patients can’t get back to the office.”
Gazzara says the office took a number of precautions for patients’ safety. He says people must wear a mask at all times during a visit. He says the staff laid out a few ways to limit peoples’ time in the waiting room to reduce virus exposure.
He says some people wait in their cars for a phone call to enter while others remain spread out in isolated exam rooms until their appointment times.
