After contracting the novel coronavirus, Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health emergency medicine physician Aditi Joshi, MD, turned to telemedicine to continue helping patients and prevent the emergency department from becoming overwhelmed, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Once she got COVID-19, Dr. Joshi began a two-week quarantine. However, she didn't let the disease stop her from doing her work as a physician. Instead, it helped enhance her virtual visits with patients, she told the publication.
"When you get something yourself, you can actually understand what people mean," Dr. Joshi said. "And for me, there's something helpful about feeling like I don't have to sit back and do nothing about it."
Appointment requests for virtual visits with physicians have skyrocketed at Jefferson Health, which as of March 30 was experiencing 2,200 appointments each day, according to the report. The health system's virtual "walk-in" visits also increased from 20 to 200 visits per day.
When Dr. Joshi, who is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 herself, participates in virtual visits, she said she has been trying to figure out what patients are worrying about most. "The reality is you can't control a lot of things, so I listen to people, and try to understand what their fear is," she said.