Dr. Lox : Telemedicine is Effective in Sports and Regenerative Medicine During Coronavirus.

Orthopedic pain, joint, back pain, stay away from ER and Urgent care. This is where the virus is. Reach out and talk to the expert in your home.
We all are adapting. It is a stressful time for all. Your knee or your back doesn’t stop hurting during a global pandemic. However, the computer age and the flexibility allowed during the Coronavirus Pandemic has allowed patients to be seen effectively via Telemedicine. There is no replacement for an office visits in a lot of cases, however prioritizing office visits and maintaining social distancing is the key to flattening the curve of this pandemic. Many Sports and Regenerative Medicine patients can be seen this way, and they have found it appealing during these times. Even reaching out and talking to a patient is reassuring. Most patients are welcoming this alternative and understand the need to protect other people from contracting and spreading the Coronavirus.

Old School Training Prepares Physicians for Crisis Management

There was no Telemedicine and internet when many doctors trained. We had old school medical training, where there was no limits on the number of hours worked during the week. You learned by being in the fire of the hospital. The more you worked, the more you saw. Experience gained through intensity. It was not always fun, but it was part of learning Medicine. It wasn’t supposed to be easy, that is why it was so hard to get into medical school, and doctors were held in an upper status position, as a result of the hard work and years of training. To be exact, 12 years in my case. This old school mentality and work ethic eroded somewhat during the managed care years, and it seemed as an assault on the way we were trained. The power shifted to the insurance companies, pharmaceutical industry, and hospitals. The patients and doctors lost out. Now there are limits on the number of hours worked in a week, and graduating medical students did not feel taking the Hippocratic Oath was necessary.
Now we are in the midst of a health care crisis with wide spread economic devastation worldwide. Doctors and nurses are being praised on the news, as we battle to help those in need. Often doing the best we can despite a system unable to support the overwhelming burden fully due to overload of the system. Those on the front lines state is worse than 9/11 or being in a war hospital.

But, THEY HOLD UP SIGNS SAYING, WE WORK, SO YOU CAN STAY AT HOME.

Make The Most of Your Doctors Expertise, Come out Healthier, Stronger, and in Better Shape in the Coming Weeks

All the health care providers around the world are doing what they are trained to do. Help patients to the best of their ability. I believe we will be in a much better position if the virus returns in November as some predict.
We all must do our part. Providing a helpful bit of advice, encouragement, troubleshooting patients complaints while protecting them from social exposure. Staying away from the ER and Urgent Care Centers, for non emergency care, via Telemedicine is a very good and useful approach to maximize care, within the guidelines of patients been told to stay at home. March was troubling. It was easy for an experienced physician to see ahead of trouble brewing. It is now April, and we are experiencing the prospect of being mostly at home for this month, and probably longer. I remember being on every night call during my residency for 2 months. I wondered how I would make it. You just do. Day turns into night and day returns.
This will pass. I firmly believe we will now be more focused on prevention rather than just illness.
The world sees the economic impact of not being prepared adequately for prevention. It is also a reminder to stay healthy, something Dr. Lox is very focused on with his patients. It is an inherent part of his personalized medicine approach. Approach this as an opportunity to maximize your health and wellness. Stay healthy. Sound mind and body. Diet, exercise, joint and injury protection. Staying at home means the gym is out, but there are so many ways to work on wellness at home. We are here to guide you if needed. Patients have been surprised a quick phone call or Telemedicine consultation can provide valuable insight to keeping them on tract while staying at home.
There has been many interesting cases I have had on Telemedicine calls. A quarantined 12 year old from China, a man trying to google exercises for his quads, yet google doesn’t is not set up for patients who have bad joints and Regenerative Medicine, and Stem Cell Therapy. All patients have been thankful to speak with the doctor and very understanding, and greatly appreciative of the ability to speak with the doctor, and remain socially distant. Many have actually done an excellent job, eating better, losing weight, and exercising as instructed. Well done. We all can help out, and do our part to help fallen the curve. As a doctor this is a good reminder of why we became doctors, to help people.

Thank you, and be well.
Dennis Lox M.D.