Practicing During a Pandemic
As part of your health care team, your health and safety are of the utmost importance to us. As the situation around COVID-19 continues to evolve, we will be taking extra precautions for all in person appointments to ensure the safety of you and our staff.
We recommend that you monitor the BC Centre for Disease Control’s website as well as Vancouver Coastal Health’s website.
At this time we are seeing only life and vision threatening emergencies.
For the protection of other patients and our staff, please do not come to our clinic if you have
- compatible symptoms (e.g. fever, cough or difficulty breathing),
- traveled outside of Canada within the last 14 days,
- come into close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19.
We will be taking the following extra precautions throughout the clinic for the foreseeable future:
- All commonly touched surfaces will be sanitized before and after each patient.
- Common reading materials and chairs have been removed from the waiting room.
- We have signage around the office so that patients follow the set pathway for their appointments.
- We have reduced our services to sight impacting visits only at this time.
- We are implementing a new booking system that limits the number of patients in the clinic to one to two an hour.
COVID-19 FAQs
Q: I have an appointment booked, what should I do?
A: As expected our phone line is very busy. We are calling all patients who have appointments booked in our office to make the necessary changes. We kindly ask that if you are not experiencing any critical vision changes to avoid calling our office and email your questions to info@briarsexton.com. We appreciate your cooperation and patience during this difficult time.
Q: I have had a virtual appointment in which Dr. Sexton has said she would like to see me in person. What do I do?
A: If the doctor has indicated that you require follow up or treatment in your chart, and you feel comfortable; we will arrange an appointment for you. We are taking every measure to make sure our clinic is a safe place for our staff and our patients.
Q: Where can I get more information about COVID –19?
A: Non-medical questions about COVID-19 can be found in the FAQS at http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19 and https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/common-questions-about-covid-19.
Q: How long will my appointment take with the limited booking system?
A: We will try our best to get all patients in and out of the clinic in 30-60 minutes. It is important that you arrive at your appointment time, not before and not too late (more than five minutes) after.
Q: Can my translator, driver, friend, or parent come with me to my in person appointment?
A: We are only allowing patients in the office at this time. Please have your driver, friend, or parent wait in the car or outside for the duration of your appointment. If you require a translator, we will call them and place them on speaker to communicate for your appointment.
More Information on Virtual Appointments
Q: What is virtual care?
A: Virtual care involves meeting with Dr. Sexton to receive real-time medical care remotely via video or phone consultation. It enables patients to connect with Dr. Sexton without coming in to the clinic.
Q: What are the benefits of virtual care?
A: Virtual care enables Dr. Sexton to do a baseline assessment of our patients eye conditions. This will help her
- grossly perform an eye exam including visual acuity, visual field, colour vision, eye movements, eyelid, and pupil assessment,
- reassure patients and reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19,
- allow us to assess a safe timeline in which to have patients come in to the office,
- protect our patients and staff by limiting the numbers of patients in the clinic.
Q: Are virtual care visits secure?
A: We value your privacy. We will be using a platform called Doxy for all video consultations. This platform is designed specifically for doctors to ensure the best virtual patient experience and maintenance of patient privacy.
Q: Can new prescriptions or refills be provided during virtual care visits?
A: At Dr. Sexton’s discretion, previously prescribed medications may be refilled and new medications can be prescribed. Please have the fax number of your preferred pharmacy ready at the time of your virtual appointment, and we will send it to them directly after your appointment.
Q: Is there additional cost for virtual care visits?
A: There are no additional costs for BC residents who are covered by Medical Services Plan (MSP).
Q: How do I prepare for a virtual care visit?
A: To make sure your virtual visit is successful, you’ll want to consider the following:
- Ensure your web browser is the latest version, that your camera and microphone permissions are enabled.
- Let us know as soon as possible if you are having any issues connecting to Doxy.
- The calls coming from our office may be our office number (604-282-7900), “No Caller ID”, or “Blocked Caller”. Please answer “No Caller ID” and “Blocked Caller” calls.
- One of our staff members will call you prior to the doctor to confirm your medications. They may ask you for your BC Care Card information as well as other basic demographics.
- Dr. Sexton will call you in the agreed upon appointment window.
- If you miss the call, Dr. Sexton will try to reach you one more time.
- If you miss both calls, contact our office as soon as possible. Missed calls will result in a rebooking fee if we do not hear from you within 20 minutes after the agreed time frame.
- After your virtual appointment is complete, one of staff members will reach out to book a follow up as required.
Click here to subscribe to this blog!