Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Summer 2020 - 33

adjunctive tool in the overall healthcare of patients. It is understood
that there remain a multitude of scenarios in which a virtual visit is
not appropriate, especially in cases of emergency. Certain complaints
cannot be responsibly diagnosed and treated using virtual modalities
and necessitate physical presentation. However, vast possibilities are
making themselves readily apparent during this time of crisis and
should, at the very least, be made available and offered to patients to
allow them to better determine the course of their own healthcare.
Therefore, despite a few impediments, these systems are being
created to provide continuing benefits. While the current purpose
of these initiatives is to improve connection between patients and
healthcare professionals in a time of necessary isolation, Telehealth
will remain long after the dissipation of this novel Coronavirus.
Video Visits will allow increased access to care for individuals in
underserved regions both at home and around the world. It also
improves access for the elderly and disabled individuals burdened
by physically presenting to a primary care office. Remote Patient
Monitoring will drastically decrease hospital length of stay and 90day return rates while mitigating the need for Inpatient Observation.
Virtual ICU Monitoring will reduce the need for patient transfer,
spreading the accessibility of intensive care consultation to the
location of the patient.
In a time of fear and crisis, there is also excitement as Telehealth
continues developing to catapult healthcare delivery into the
future. The programs listed above are merely the beginning of an
evolution. It is often the case that moments of great turmoil drive
growth through necessity, and the door has now been sprung open
to amazing new possibilities. Following this crisis, COVID-19 will
be remembered as the launching point of a new era of medicine in
which Patient and Provider will be more connected than ever.

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Coronavirus Chronicles: Berks Responds

COVID
EXPERIENCE

by Fahmida S. Poly, MD
PGY2 Family Medicine Resident
Reading Hospital - Tower Health

am a second year family medicine resident and my husband is
a hospitalist, and we, along with our 3-year-old son, survived
Covid-19. All three of us have no past medical history and are
otherwise healthy. My husband developed symptoms first, with a
clear productive cough and vague left sided chest pain. Although he
went to get tested, he almost did not want to believe it and tried to
ignore it. He later developed fatigue and a low grade fever.
I developed symptoms 2 days after that, with sore throat,
fatigue, and fever. My symptoms worsened on the third day, when
I developed significant myalgia and loss of appetite which lasted for
about another two days. I slept for over 16 hours those two days. I
never exhibited lower respiratory symptoms in my course. Although
my symptoms were mild, and I continued with telemedicine
services in lieu of clinic visits as well as carrying on with home
chores, I anxiously anticipated that things might get worse.
Fortunately, after those two days my fever and myalgia improved.
However, I continued to experience residual headache and sore
throat, with anosmia and dysgeusia.

Our 3-year-old son showed symptoms but was not tested. I
was most terrified when my son developed a fever of 102 F with
headache, since I knew there were news reports of rare cases of
meningitis occurring in the pediatric population. It heightened
my anxiety to the point where I completed physical exams on
him throughout the day to make sure he was okay. Luckily, his
symptoms improved after two days and he was back to his normal
self.
From the onset of symptoms, we self-treated with black seed
oil, homemade herbal and spice tea, elderberry, and a vitamin and
minerals supplement. My husband continued to have a residual
cough for about 3 weeks, but we both eventually returned to work
after a full recovery. Fear is still with us, however, as we worry
about the possibility of becoming re-infected since there is so much
we still do not know about this novel virus, including whether the
illness provides immunity.

SUMMER 2020

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Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Summer 2020

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