I think she may have been right to not let twig mingle with her other patients in the office. But she should have had a plan to have twig seen by someone competent, and she should be following twig’s treatment and health. IMHO.
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Last time I went in to the urgent care I was a little surprised they let me in without any hassle. Lady at reception was like “You got recent COVID symptoms?” and all I was like “Define… recent.”
I dragged my wife to urgent care a couple of evenings ago for a non-respiratory matter and was somewhat creeped out by sharing waiting room air with a few other customers who were in only for COVID testing (and seemed to belong to the “below the nose” school of mask-wearing).
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And this is why I didn’t go to the doctor until my vocal chords collapsed and my lungs were itchy.
This is also part of how my wife talked a doctor out of admitting her to a hospital yesterday (in return for agreeing to run to diagnostic appointments scattered around the area today, and coming to a follow-up appointment Friday with an “essentials” bag just-in-case).
I went to a CVS minute clinic a few weeks ago with an ear infection, and because my symptoms overlapped with covid symptoms, the nurse practitioner called me, and asked me to take a rapid test. She said not to come if it was positive because she didn’t have a separate exam room or waiting area for covid-positive patients. That CVS also does covid testing, but they have that set up in a tent in the parking lot.
(I’m glad I had a stash of rapid tests, I’ve used several of them.)
Well I hope your wifey is okay 
I mean the funny thing is that the urgent care center was in the middle of a grocery store. So I had to walk through the grocery store to get to it, coming into contact with WAY more people than could even fit in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. So from a public health perspective it was extremely counterproductive. But it did protect that particular doctor, staff, and other patients.
My mom’s doc and several others have patients who may be contagious sit in their car until a room is available, at which point they move directly from the car to an exam room. That’s reasonable. My PCP’s stance is not, IMO.
I have never been to a clinic where it’s possible to move directly from the parking lot to an exam room. I agree that sounds like an excellent set-up, and a very reasonable way to handle the situation.
My DIL’s mother is a pediatrician, and she has actually seen a couple of patients in their car, in the parking lot, to keep them out of the public areas of her office. Since most of a covid exam can be done from the neck-up (unless you need x-rays, which she’d have to send them elsewhere for anyway) this seems reasonable, if awkward.
I think you still have to pass through the waiting room, but this way you’re in the waiting room for like 5-10 seconds rather than 30-40 minutes. That means something.
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fwiw, my doctor is based in an urban hospital, and it takes quite a while to get from the parking garage (where there’s poor cell coverage) to the actual office. That being said, the hospital isn’t especially good about keep people separate. When I brought my mom in for treatment of active covid, the treatment was in a wing devoted to covid, and they had us wait near the doorway and be escorted to the covid suite, but to get to that doorway we needed to use the elevator in the parking garage. I waited a LONG time to a get a car that didn’t have other people in it, and that was just something I did, not policy. (policy was “no more than 4 people in the elevator”)
I didn’t catch the rona from my coworker, it would seem. Exposure was four days ago. Several negative rapid tests (which I would expect anyway, I just took them because I am too much of a worrier not to), and a negative PCR today. There’s a chance I just haven’t started to develop symptoms yet, so I’m still on the lookout, but I’m less freaked out than I was.
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When the kids were sick during 1st year of pandemic you waited in car and came to the back door for rapid test/triage, then went to exam room. Pediatrician group occupies half the building.
Well, with the number of kids you have…
, but it won’t be long and you’ll outnumber me … at the pediatrician at least, ND already does
Another kid with a barking cough and cold symptoms this morning, another negative test.
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Welp, I got the omicron.
I woke up feeling a bit sick. Gave an experimental cough, and it felt a bit weird.
One vaguely fun fact is I broke with FDA approved medical advice, and did a throat swab as well as nose swab, and only the throat swab was positive at first.
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The UK is telling people to swab their throat and then use the same swab in their nose (ick).
So long as it isn’t the other way around 
:iatick: