Covid-19 Policies

For the safety of our patients, our physicians and staff are currently being immunized against Covid-19.

As you are well aware, COVID-19 has changed the way we are living and as society moves toward re- opening, we will soon discover a ‘new normal’. You may be wondering what this will look like, and how it will affect your ophthalmic care.

First and foremost, we would like to reassure you that we are carefully heeding the guidance of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Surgeon General, the American College of Surgeons, and other leading medical organizations around their prudent recommendations concerning when and how to resume routine ophthalmic clinical care and surgical procedures.

Secondly, we would like to inform you of the specific measures we are taking to ensure the optimal safety of both you and our staff as we move towards resuming routine care:

Clinical Care

• Clinic check-in and check-out procedures:
• You will walk up to the front door and we will come out to greet you.
• Your temperature will be checked.
• If your temperature is greater than 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit, you will be sent home.
• If you are experiencing any cold or flu symptoms, you will be asked to reschedule.
• Please kindly bring a mask with you, which must be worn over your mouth and nose at all times.
• If there are no seats available inside, we will call you once there is a seat available or we are ready to begin your exam.
• To schedule your follow-up appointment, a staff member will call you later on the day of or the day following your appointment.
• Please have your family members or friends stay in the car unless their presence is vital to your visit.
• Be assured that we are meticulously cleaning each examination room before and after your visit.
• Physicians will be wearing masks and gloves and staff members will be wearing masks for the duration of the time recommended by the CDC; please kindly wear a mask to your visit given the proximity of your face to your physician during the examination.
• Testing will generally be scheduled as a separate visit, on a separate date and time from your visit with your physician. While we recognize this may pose an inconvenience to some, it ensures a more streamlined visit, which in turn optimizes the safety of you and all of our patients and staff.
• While we find joy in conversing with our patients beyond the scope of their ophthalmic care, please kindly accept that physicians and staff will strive to move you efficiently through your appointment.
• You can do your part in aiding this process by considering your questions in advance of your appointment and how you can ask them in an efficient way; you may often discover that your physician will answer your questions as they review your exam findings and plan of care with you, before you ask him/her.
• Your physician will aim to communicate concisely and clearly; while we recognize this could be interpreted as short or dismissive by some, we invite you to accept this as a consideration towards your safety.
• Your physician may schedule a follow-up phone call for the same evening of your appointment if your ophthalmic problem necessitates a lengthy conversation.
• Please bring a pen with you to your appointment should you need to fill out any consents or other paperwork.
• Expect our policies to evolve based on the recommendations of the aforementioned leading medical organizations.

Surgical Care

• Elective surgeries will be resumed at the discretion of the governing board of the Camp Lowell Surgery Center who, in turn, are following the guidance of the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Arizona Department of Health Services, and other leading medical organizations.

Our primary goal during this unprecedented time is to transparently ensure the safety of our patients, our staff, and the city of Tucson. As always, we invite the feedback of our patients.

Sincerely,
The Tucson Eye Care Team