Dear Patients of North Atlanta Women’s Specialists,
We hope you are well. These are very scary and confusing times for all of us. Our practice is reading and taking the recommendations of our scientific community on COVID-19 (Coronavirus) to heart to protect our patients, family, staff, and community. We wanted to make you aware of some changes in our practice for the upcoming weeks.
For those of you who are pregnant, changes in your physiology during pregnancy mean you are baseline immune suppressed. While there is not a great deal of data on COVID19 in pregnancy, we do know that it is much more dangerous to have other illnesses such as the flu and pneumonia while pregnant. With this in mind, we highly recommend that you restrict all travel and social interactions. If you are exhibiting any cold or flu like symptoms (especially with a fever), please call before coming to the office. Please also note, on labor and delivery all patients and visitors are being screened for coronavirus before entering the suite. Patients are limited to one support person/visitor of their choosing for the duration of their hospitalization.
In an effort to help our community slow the spread of COVID-19, the physicians at NAWS have made the following changes, effective immediately:
With transmission becoming more widespread, we are suspending appointments for routine annual exams and other preventative visits. We will continue to see all of our obstetric patients, and urgent gyn visits. We are notating appointments that are being cancelled. These cancelled appointments will be given priority when our schedule restrictions are lifted. Telemedicine visits are being made available for patients that still would like to consult with a doctor by phone.
Also, patients will be restricted from bringing extra people with them to their appointment. Patients arriving with additional people will be asked to have them wait in their vehicle, or outside the office. Patients arriving with children will be asked to reschedule. For routine OB visits, and other non-critical patients, please come alone. We encourage you to speak to a phone nurse if feel your situation warrants an exemption.
During this time of uncertainty, we are lifting all cancellation fees for appointments. We are also making it easier for patients whose care has been postponed to obtain needed refills. For all non-controlled substances, simply ask your pharmacy to send us a refill request, and we will gladly take care of that for you.
As we work through this national health crisis, please be patient and open-minded about the temporary measures we’ve adopted. They are truly temporary and in all of our best interest. We know this may be an inconvenience, but we feel obligated, as always, to put our patient and staff safety at the forefront.
Be safe and well,
North Atlanta Women's Specialists
