Primary Care
UPDATE: Current protocols for visitation and masking are different than when this article was originally published. To see our current guidance, visit our website.
Many of your plans and events have been canceled in 2020 and early 2021, but your routine health check-ups and child’s well visits should remain on your calendar, says Sonia Dar, MD, Primary care physician at Ridgeway Family Medicine for Rochester Regional Health.
“This is not a time to lose contact with your doctor or suffer at home. It’s been a frustrating and grueling time for everybody, but it’s important to keep your routine visits and your child’s well-visits.”
Routine health check-ups with a primary care provider can reduce your risk of getting a serious infection and can detect potentially life-threatening diseases before it’s too late. They also give you an opportunity to discuss any changes in your life with your doctor.
“Health care doesn’t stop for anything, not even a pandemic, and that’s why it’s essential to stay in touch with your provider and contact their office if something doesn’t feel right,” Dr. Dar said.
All Rochester Regional Health locations are taking diligent safety measures to ensure the well-being of our patients as part of our continued commitment to providing safe, high-quality health care.
In-person safety measures:
Virtual visits through telemedicine are a convenient, safe, and extremely effective way to meet with your physician from the comfort of your home.
Patients can meet virtually with physicians, surgeons, and specialists from across Rochester Regional Health using telemedicine technology that's simple and easily accessible.
“We are doing as many virtual visits as appropriate based on the patient and their symptoms,” Dr. Dar said. “And if you do need to be seen in person, we’re ready and capable of that too.”
Dr. Dar is also a mother of a two-year-old girl who was recently scheduled for a routine well-visit. Dr. Dar brought her daughter to the appointment in-person.
“That’s an appointment I would never have missed. While we’re all focused on the coronavirus, and rightfully so, we must not forget about the other pathogens that are out there that can affect our little ones like polio, hepatitis, meningitis, and others.”
All Rochester Regional Health family practices are still seeing children for all well-child checks up until the age of five and are seeing kids between the ages of 10 to 13 for their annual physicals, as well as teens aged 16 to 18.
“When the older kids come in for their well-child checks and regular health checks, we also screen them for depression. With kids being home from school and missing out on major events, that’s an important doctors appointment to bring your children in for.”
Get family support for parents and parents-to-be
Rochester Regional Health offers a variety of important health screenings that help you live a healthier life.
Common health screenings:
To book an appointment with your doctor, call your doctor’s office today.
