COVID Positives
In early March, none of us knew the impact that a virus would have on our company and the world as a whole. Like most healthcare companies in the Northeast, our emergency situations typically involve snowstorms and hurricanes. Instead, COVID-19’s impact means that we’ve had to quickly adapt to the twists and turns of new metrics, statistics and press meetings.
It’s amazing the effect a tiny virus can – and has – had on virtually every industry and even in the minute details of our business. A foot of snow shuts down businesses and schools — but even that melts in a day or two. Most power outages are resolved in a day. Even SuperStorm Sandy’s direct impact lasted about a week. However, in just three months the coronavirus has managed to impact our economy and society in ways that make these other scenarios seem trivial.
How have we adapted due to COVID-19?
Because of COVID-19, we’ve rolled out new and creative ways we serve you and deliver care during these strange times. Each of us is part of an all hands on deck approach, but now we operate almost entirely on a remote basis. We quickly began using intricate and powerful features of our remote access server, leveraged and deployed electronic medical records to a high quality web-based program, and took advantage of our phone system that operates using the Internet rather than a standard phone line. For a few days, we developed, tested and honed these new processes and functions to ensure we would be able to serve our patients without interruption or compromise moving forward.
We will continue to monitor these newly implemented remote support solutions while listening to your feedback to create the most positive customer experience possible. We are committed to bettering our new processes, while at the same delivering uncompromising care and attention our patients have come to know and appreciate.
Long standing relationships help us help you
Absolute Respiratory Care is part of the medical industry that has been particularly hard hit due to the virus. Hand sanitizer, N95 and surgical masks became nearly impossible to acquire. Ventilators and oxygen concentrators went on back order. Unprecedented demand for these and similar products overwhelmed the marketplace. Thankfully, our existing stock of equipment and vendor partnerships allowed us to maintain enough inventory to fulfill orders, which was our top priority.
So how has our team at ARC responded to the patient care need during this pandemic?
First, we transformed our CPAP, nebulizer, and patient set up areas into low or no contact interactions. Curbside pickup and front door deliveries are necessary at this time, but also convenient and make a way for other patients to connect with us that might not have done so otherwise. Although we strive to keep some in person appointments, our team relies on new virtual technology to continue to provide quality service and products. A few tools are especially useful: DocuSign allows us to acquire signatures remotely and without any physical contact. Just as importantly, Doxy.Me provides secure video and audio telehealth solutions without having to download an app. Because of these technological tools, CPAP set-ups in some instances are now done 100% remotely and with no physical contact.
And in addition to these solutions, we now offer a remote CPAP mask fitting tool through ResMed. With ResMed, you don’t need to sit through a Q&A session before you get the machine. The tool takes your facial measurements and helps streamline the process between getting the mask and seeing results. After the ResMed fitting ends, we connect via Doxy.Me, again ensuring a no-touch, convenient service.
Hopefully you’ve noticed our new website supports these digital tools smoothly and seamlessly. You can learn more about Doxy.Me and other tools, for example, and you can even watch along with videos to help familiarize yourself with specific masks and/or machines. We want you to feel supported through every step of the process and feel safe too. Despite the challenges that our business, industry, society and world face today because of COVID-19, it’s our hope to use the solutions we have now to continue to give you the best patient care experience possible.
We are here for you more than ever!
Want to schedule a virtual or in person CPAP, mask, or nebulizer setup appointment? Give us a call and we’ll be glad to help you get on your way to better breathing — even if it’s over a screen!