To the Haber Dermatology Patient Community:
As of today, medical offices have NOT been asked to stop seeing patients. Thus we are still open for business. Patients at higher risk of complications from COVID-19, in particular elderly patients, should consider postponing office visits.
Fortunately, Medicare will for the time being allow and reimburse telemedicine evaluations. This means you can use Skype on your phone or computer, and have a live encounter with me personally to look at a skin issue or discuss a problem. We are hopeful that private insurers will also allow these virtual visits.
If you wish to take advantage of this, please call the office and request a virtual teledermatology visit. Our staff will give you instructions on creating a Skype account if you do not have one, then initiate a Skype call to get started. Next, one of our medical assistants will contact you by Skype to take your history and begin the visit. Finally, I will call you, at which time you may use your phone or computer camera to show me your skin condition.
This is new to us as well, so we will try to make it as efficient as possible, but please be patient as we all learn how to best use teledermatology. Obviously any lesions that need to be removed or treated will require an office visit.
We will send out another update if private insurance companies also agree to allow virtual visits. In the event your insurance company will not reimburse these and you still desire a virtual visit, you may choose to pay directly for such a visit by visiting Dermatologist On Call.
Create an account, search for my name, and follow the instructions.
Thank you for helping us keep our community healthy and our office safe.
Sincerely yours,
Robert Haber, MD