From Yale Medicine: Your Safety is Our Priority

To our patients,

At Yale Medicine, the safe delivery of care has always been our highest priority. As the state of Connecticut continues its phased reopening, and we return to a new normal, I am writing to assure you that Yale Medicine remains a safe environment for you and your loved ones.

We are redesigning the way we deliver care and implementing a wide range of safety measures to protect you at every step of your Yale Medicine journey. These are more specifically outlined below and in this short video.

Minimizing Face-to-Face Contact

• To minimize physical contact on the day of your visit, we encourage all patients to use MyChart, a free, secure online patient portal. MyChart allows patients to complete required paperwork, check in for appointments electronically, and make any necessary payments, including co-payments, online.
• Perhaps most importantly, MyChart also allows you to see and talk with your doctor remotely, via telehealth. If you wish to schedule a telehealth visit, or convert an existing visit to a virtual visit, please contact us at 1-877-YALE MDs (1-877-925-3637).

Keeping Our Facilities Safe

• Mandatory Screening: Everyone who enters a Yale Medicine facility—including patients, visitors, and staff—is greeted and screened for COVID-19 symptoms, including fever. Anyone with symptoms is then tested for COVID-19. We ask that you arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment time (but no earlier) to allow for screening.
• Face Masks: All patients, visitors, and staff are required to wear face masks at all times while inside Yale Medicine facilities. If you do not have a mask, we will provide one for you.
• Limited Visitors: For the safety of all, we are not allowing visitors or companions at this time. If the patient’s age or medical condition necessitates a companion, one such individual will be permitted.
• Minimal Time in Waiting Rooms: At many of our locations, patients can avoid the waiting room altogether. Depending on the site, you may be offered a phone number to call from the parking lot to let us know you have arrived; we will advise you once we are ready to receive you. For other locations, you will be directed straight from the screening station into your exam room.
• Social Distancing: For patients who cannot wait in their cars or outside of the building for their appointments, we have modified waiting room seating arrangements and installed floor markers to ensure at least six feet of distance is maintained between individuals at all times.
• Reception and Check-out Desks: Plexiglass shields have been installed to further protect patients and staff.
• Reduced Patient Traffic: In order to minimize patient-to-patient contact and limit the number of individuals in our facilities at any one time, we are significantly limiting the number of patients scheduled per hour.
• Cleaning and Disinfecting After Every Patient: Exam rooms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after every patient visit, and they are deep-cleaned every night. All of our offices, waiting rooms, and restrooms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected throughout the day. Our cleaning protocols follow the latest infection prevention guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Yale Infectious Disease faculty, using hospital-grade disinfectants.
• Confirmed COVID-positive Patients: Patients who are known to be COVID-positive are scheduled according to specific protocols in order to minimize risk to other patients.

Even during the pandemic, it is vital to visit your health care providers regularly and treat medical conditions when necessary. You can trust Yale Medicine to deliver first-rate medical care in the safest setting possible. We wish all the best to you and your loved ones during these challenging times, and we look forward to continuing to serve your health care needs, with safety as our top priority.

Sincerely,

Paul Taheri, MD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Yale Medicine