Health officials from McAllen to Brownsville have warned citizens to stay in their homes in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), but allergy season in the Rio Grande Valley is unrelenting and unforgiving. We are here to help!

Certified physician assistant Jonathan Lerma, trained and mentored by our McAllen ENT Dr. Frank R. Glatz, and the savvy team of sinus relief specialists at the Glatz Group want to encourage those with severe allergy or sinus symptoms to continue to reach out to us so we can help you find relief. 

While we will still provide in-person consultations with all the necessary care and precautionary measures taken, we will also be offering telemedicine services. After an initial phone consultation to discuss your symptoms, patients will be able to utilize an online video application for their appointment with the doctor.

What is Telemedicine?

The World Health Organization (WHO) refers to telemedicine as healing from a distance. It is a tool that we use to be more accessible to our sinus and allergy patients that cannot come into the office, saving them from the stresses of arranging for travel during a time when staying at home is the best way to avoid exposure to the coronavirus.

With this innovative telemedicine software, we are able to take care of 90 to 95 percent of sinus symptoms our patients experience and develop a treatment plan from the safety of their own homes, effectively addressing their concerns and preventing them from being at risk of COVID-19 exposure.

Expanding on How Telemedicine is Delivered

The way we use telemedicine is normally through a video call, but other ways that telemedicine is used include:

• Interactive Medicine – This gives patients and physicians the option to communicate in real-time without disrupting the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance.
• Store and Forward – This gives providers permission to exchange patient information with a practitioner from another location.
• Remote Patient Monitoring – This lets remote caregivers evaluate patients that live at home through the use of mobile medical devices that gather data (e.g. blood sugar or blood pressure)

In some instances, medical data can also be drawn through portable telemedicine kits that use computer and mobile medical devices like electrocardiograms (ECGs) or vital signs monitors. High-resolution digital cameras are also an option for physicians to share detailed medical photos with specialists that are miles away.

The last option is robust telemedicine software that makes everything from data storage to live video conferencing possible. In a nutshell, there are many options for innovative telemedicine equipment to meet the various needs of patients today, especially in times like these where some may need it most.

Even Through the COVID-19 Pandemic, Your Sinus Team is At the Ready

The sinus relief team at Glatz Group take your allergy and sinus concerns seriously, and we are more than willing and ready to help you get the relief you need, whether you are in our office or through innovative telemedicine services.

Sinus relief while you stay at home. Contact us at (956) 631-2957 to schedule your appointment. 

You’ll be Glatz You Did!