Calls to Pierce County health care providers surging as coronavirus concerns increase
NOTE: This story has been updated with information from CHI Franciscan.
Increasing numbers of people are checking in with Pierce County health providers fearful that they have come down with the novel coronavirus.
MultiCare’s emergency rooms and urgent care facilities have seen upticks in patients seeking treatment, said spokeswoman Marce Edwards.
Normally, MultiCare’s e-visit system, which provides patient to provider care via the internet, sees 50-60 patients daily, said spokeswoman Shari Campbell.
On Tuesday, 369 people used the system with more than half inquiring about suspected COVID-19 symptoms.
“There’s a lot of people concerned about it,” Campbell said. “It’s all over the media.”
Since the uptick, only 10 people have been referred to further screening, which includes screening by an infectious disease specialist and contact with the county and state health departments. None of those people have confirmed COVID-19 cases, Campbell said.
“There’s a fairly rigorous protocol we go through,” Campbell said.
On Monday, MultiCare made coronvirus inquiries free on the system, which normally costs $25.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure.The disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
So far, more than 94,000 cases have been reported worldwide, with about 3,200 deaths, the vast majority of them in China. In the U.S.,128 cases have been reported, including 10 deaths in Washington state out of 32 reported cases. In California, the first death was reported Wednesday, with 45 overall cases reported.
At CHI Franciscan, the parent of Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center, free 24-hour virtual health consultations are being offered to anyone experiencing upper respiratory symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
“Franciscan Virtual Urgent Care is open to all our communities in an effort to reduce in-person visits to urgent care centers and emergency departments,” said Ketul Patel, CHI Franciscan’s chief executive officer.
The service can be found at franciscanvirtualcare.org or by calling 855-356-8053.
Telemedicine or in person?
Health officials are cutting a fine line between suggesting isolation for suspected COVID-19 patients while urging them to seek care.
While telemedicine can keep a potentially ill person from spreading the disease, it could also delay treatment.
Campbell doesn’t want to discourage any patients from seeking treatment at one of MultiCare’s urgent care clinics or ERs.
“It’s fine to come into the clinic,” she said of potential COVID-19 patients. “We give them a mask and quickly go through a triage process.”
MultiCare would prefer a call or virtual visit before coming to an clinic or ER, Edwards said.
Coronavirus testing
Test samples can be collected in a variety of ways by medical personnel. They include nasal swab, spit or fluid removed from a lung, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
The tests are then sent to a Washington state public health lab in Shoreline for a DNA analysis.
Currently, the lab has a capacity to test 100 people per day, the state Department of Health says on its website. But, it wasn’t yet working at capacity on Wednesday.
The testing criteria set down by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control determines who gets tested, the DOH said.
“That criteria has widened in the last week to include people who are hospitalized with symptoms that are otherwise unexplained,” the DOH says on its website. “That is in addition to testing people with travel history, and people with contacts to a known case. These criteria may evolve to include more people over time, as this situation is evolving rapidly.”
A spokesperson for the DOH could not provide numbers of available tests or if the state could meet increasing demand.
Meanwhile, the University of Washington Medical Center announced Wednesday it has developed the ability to run 1,000 tests per day. In addition, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state would be lifting restrictions on coronavirus testing on Wednesday. Testing will still require the approval of a medical professional.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 11:08 AM.
