COVID-19 IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PATIENTS

Dear Patients,

Over the last two weeks, with the spread of novel COVID-19, the global climate has become a place of great uncertainty and worry. The current outbreak has required unprecedented changes in the way we operate our daily lives. Schools have been closed, public events have been postponed, and many businesses have been affected.

Mahogany Medical Clinic has been providing quality medical care to patients and is proud to be a pillar of this community. As health care providers, we aspire to continue to provide necessary medical care in this challenging time to limit the burden on our hospital colleagues.

We are receiving regular updates from Alberta Health Services, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, the South Calgary Primary Care Network and the Alberta College of Family Physicians. We are actively monitoring and following closely the recommendations from these credible sources and our physician colleagues.

On behalf of all the physicians, staff and management team, we would like to advise you of how we will continue to provide medical care to each one of you and your families in the safest way possible. We plan to reduce any non-urgent in-person clinic visits where possible to practice social distancing.


As of March 15th 2020, we will be doing the following:
1. All upcoming BOOKED appointments which do not require you to come into the clinic will be offered as phone consultations with your doctor.

2. If you need to book a NEW appointment with your physician, the staff will offer a phone consultation if appropriate.

3. We will continue to see patients in clinic if your visit warrants you being seen in-person.

4. We will be rebooking or recommending a phone consultations if:

• you have travelled anywhere outside of Canada or through a major airport within the last 14 days

• you have symptoms of fever, cough, runny nose or sore throat

• you have been in close contact or live with someone who has had fever and cough in the last 14 days
   

5. We may offer to cancel or rebook any non-urgent scheduled appointments to reduce traffic through the clinic which could pose undue risk to you or our staff.

6. Please note that your physician may call from a private line that will display “No Caller ID”.

7. If you call for a same day cancellation, there will be no cancellation fee.

8. If you require a prescription refill, a referral or a requisition for blood work or imaging, your physician will be able to fax this on your behalf at the time of your phone consultation.


For patients scheduled to have an in-person appointment in the clinic, we are kindly requesting the following:
1. Please DO NOT come into the clinic if you have a cough, fever, runny nose or sore throat. Alberta Health Services urges these patients to self-isolate for 14 days.

2. If you or any of your personal contacts returned to Canada after March 12th 2020, you are strongly recommended to self-isolate for 14 days whether you feel well or unwell. For those retuning from Italy, Iran or the Hubei province of China, who MUST self-isolate regardless of your date of travel.

3. Use the Alberta Health Services COVID-19 Self Assessment Tool at https://myhealth.alberta.ca/journey/covid-19/Pages/COVID-Self-Assessment.aspx to determine if you should be tested for COVID-19.

4. Please attend your appointment by yourself (rather than with family members) if possible to minimize person-to-person contact.

5. When you arrive for your appointment, please wait in your vehicle or nearby the clinic and enter the clinic no earlier than 5 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. For the safety of patients and our clinic staff, we are trying to minimize patients sitting in the waiting area.

The goal is for you to be roomed immediately upon arrival.

6. When you enter the clinic please use the hand sanitizer at the front desk or use the washroom to wash your hands with soap and water.

We continue to follow all protocols regarding cleaning exam rooms and disposing of equipment and garbage safely.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we navigate these challenging weeks ahead. We wish you and your families all good health and safety.

With best regards,

Mahogany Medical Clinic.