Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information

Through our virtual visit app, Doctors Care Anywhere, our providers can now order testing for the coronavirus (COVID-19) for patients who are currently experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus. Testing does not occur in our centers. The address for our drive-thru specimen collection testing site will only be shared with patients if they receive a testing order from one of our providers. Only patients with a scheduled appointment and official testing order will be admitted at the specimen collection site.

If you think you have been exposed to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and have developed symptoms such as fever, cough or difficulty breathing, we encourage you to speak with a Doctors Care provider using the Doctors Care Anywhere virtual urgent care app. To prevent exposure to others, please do not come into a center.

Take the following steps to get healthy and protect those around you:

• Stay home and isolate yourself from friends and family to prevent transmission
• Take over-the-counter medicines at recommended doses to relieve pain and reduce fever
• Stay hydrated
• Keep your hands clean by washing well with soap and water
• Avoid touching your face

Only patients who have been screened through the Doctors Care Anywhere virtual urgent care platform can be referred by our providers for COVID-19 testing. Qualification for testing is based on strict clinical criteria outlined by the CDC and SC DHEC.

Because testing supplies are very limited, patients experiencing mild cold/flu symptoms, or who want to be tested for peace-of-mind do not currently qualify for testing.

Yes. Only patients with a scheduled appointment will be admitted at the collection sites. Appointments are made once a provider issues you a testing order.

If you have been evaluated by a Doctors Care provider through the Doctors Care Anywhere virtual urgent care app and have been identified as someone who may be at risk for the coronavirus (COVID-19), our Doctors Care testing team will contact you to set up an appointment for a specimen collection testing site.

If you meet appropriate criteria for a testing order, our Doctor Care testing team will contact you with instructions for how to prepare and what to expect at the specimen collection site.

If you qualified for testing, it is reasonable to think you may be at risk for the coronavirus (COVID-19). While you are waiting for your test results, you must isolate yourself at home. Please refer to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/ for information on how to care for yourself at home and minimize exposure risks to family or friends.

We are preparing to open additional sites in the future. Visit DoctorsCare.com for updates on new locations.

In order to keep our centers staffed with the compassionate and dedicated providers and teams you’ve come to expect from us, we are closing select centers temporarily to consolidate staffing and supplies at other locations to continue providing the care you and families need and deserve.

Visit DoctorsCare.com/locate to find an open location near you.

Doctors Care has been actively preparing for the coronavirus pandemic since February, taking into consideration the affect it will have on our communities and world at-large. Strengthening our protocols and devising rapid-response contingency plans have been at the forefront, in addition to extra precautions taken around stringent disinfection and social distancing protocols.

All Doctors Care staff have been trained on the appropriate care for patients with flu-like symptoms and are wearing the proper personal protective apparel. Each of our locations have been equipped with appropriate tools to follow social-distancing protocols, such as cough-guards at the sign-in/welcome desks, and line-indicators on the floor spaced to fit the distancing guidelines.

We are following CDC and SC DHEC guidelines to limit the spread of the virus including how we isolate patients with symptoms and how we disinfect rooms between patients.

The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.

• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
• These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
• The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. Practice social distancing to limit your exposure risk.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html

These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure (based on the incubation period of MERS-CoV viruses).

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

For non-emergency cases, visit www.DoctorsCare.com/Anywhere for virtual care.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Clean your hands often

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

Avoid close contact

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. This is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.