Telemedicine options in Central Texas

If you are feeling sick but are trying to stay home, try Telemedicine. It might sound confusing, but the process is simple. Because of the threat of the Coronavirus, Medicare will cover Telemedicine services, and doctors are allowed to speak with patients over Facetime, Skype, and the phone.

"The truth is we can do 80% of our work over the phone," said Dr. Tim Martindale, a family medicine physician.

With cases of COVID-19 in Central Texas, Doctors started to see a flood of cancellations in appointments. In reality, though, patients still need care.

"Its a very confusing time to be sick because all of us are thinking about COVID, but there's still Strep throat there's still ear infections and sinus infections," said Martindale.

Dr. Martindale recommends to call and use Telemedicine if you think you have an infection. That's the recommendation all across the board.

Waco Gastroenterology is also using Telemedicine, allowing patients to book virtual appointments on their websites beginning on Monday.

"Its an interview process like we'll be having 25 to 30-minute conversations with the patients trying to determine what their symptoms are, and we'll do appropriate testing based on the converstations we have with the patients," said Patrice Ihry, a PA at Waco Gastroenterology.