Irrespective of the size of the waiting room, gone are the days of patients waiting in the front office. Not only would ” patient & dentist” have to ” keep up” precise timing of appointment, patient attender ( unless mandatory ) may have to be kept out of office.
Single Patient Waiting Is the way Forward
More patients want to come in – please wait in the parking area in your cars would become the standard advice. Front office should be fully staffed at all times. The office manager should be trained in taking brief travel and social history , check patients Covid19 Negative report , re assess the temperature and guide patient towards the working chamber after he or she wears the patient gown with other disinfection protocol set up by the office.
The patient area should be restricted only to a television screen for keeping them occupied during waiting. And yes, before the next patient arrives , the front office area occupied by the patient needs to be disinfected.
Lastly , Digital payments in the way forward to avoid any contamination by currency notes.
More in the next blog.