CV-19 Healthcare Protocol for Residents

Recommended Health Protocol For Residents:

If you have a fever and dry cough and think you may have COVID-19, call before leaving your house.

If you think you were exposed but do not have symptoms, you will likely be asked to go home and self-isolate until any symptoms develop. If you are tested too early, your test could come back negative.

The majority of people who get COVID-19 are not expected to need hospital care and should recover at home and follow instructions to avoid spreading the virus to anyone else. If you do not need emergency care – do not go to the hospitals.

Virtual Care:

Capital BlueCross – Virtual Care does visits through video chat on an app for members. It tackles medical services for common illnesses, counseling and psychiatric services and nutritional counseling.

Highmark – The insurer said many of its plans “offer members a virtual clinical visit service,” but didn’t specify which.

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health – Penn Medicine OnDemand is “virtual urgent care” for minor illnesses and injuries in Penn Medicine patients age 14 and up via video through the MyLGHealth app. Lancaster General also has E-visits for certain conditions through email and sometimes phone, for patients who have visited an office recently.

UPMC Pinnacle – Video visits for follow-up appointments or flu symptoms are available through the MyPinnacleHealth patient portal via MyChart app for adults who have an established relationship with a UPMC Pinnacle physician or advanced practice provider. E-visits for patients age 14 and older who have an established relationship with a UPMC Pinnacle primary care provider involve completing an online questionnaire to receive a treatment plan.

WellSpan Health – WellSpan Online Urgent Care offers video visits with Teladoc physicians for patients 3 months and older with certain conditions. If you are not a current patient with one of these systems, call an Urgent Care Center for care.

All major health insurers in Pennsylvania have agreed to cover “medically appropriate” COVID-19 testing and treatment. Anyone with questions about their insurance policy is encouraged to contact the insurer or the state insurance department with questions; the department has a hotline at (877) 881-6388 and has posted Frequently Asked Questions on insurance coverage of the testing.