| | | | | | From Lisa DeAngelis, MD
Physician-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer
May 11, 2020
Dear Members of the MSK Community,
We understand the stress and challenges that a cancer diagnosis can bring—and COVID-19 has certainly made this difficult journey even more challenging. But your cancer care is too important to put on hold.
Here at MSK, we’ve put in place the strictest safety measures to ensure that you continue to receive the world-class cancer care you expect from us in the safest environment possible. These measures include: Patient Screenings – All patients are screened the day before any scheduled visit to MSK. Screenings are conducted via phone call, text message or MyMSK (our online patient portal). Limited Contact – We’ve limited the number of people who can enter our facilities by spacing out the time between patient visits and updating our Visitor policy to currently not allow patients to have guests or visitors. (We have resources and technology to enable your loved ones or others you want to join your appointment remotely via phone or tablet.) Curbside Check-In – Wherever possible, we’ve minimized the need for you to wait in our waiting rooms, with new check-in procedures that can be completed from your car or our building entrances. Clean & Safe Environment – We’ve further enhanced our cleaning efforts to disinfect and sanitize all high-touch and public areas. We also require all patients and staff to wear a mask at all times (which we provide to anyone entering our facilities who doesn’t have one). Some staff are also wearing gloves, gowns, face shields and other equipment for your protection. Staff Health Checks – All staff are screened for any signs of illness and perform daily health checks before reporting to work. Testing – Our COVID-19 testing is operating at full capacity, enabling us to test patients and staff as frequently as necessary. We can also order antibody testing to identify previous infections in patients and staff. Telemedicine – If you aren’t able or don’t want to come in for an appointment, you can request a telemedicine appointment, where you can speak to us remotely from the comfort of your home. In many cases this can be an effective alternative for in-person care. Virtual Express Check-Out – If you don’t want to stop by on your way out to schedule your next appointment, let us know and we’ll contact you for any follow-up appointments. For more information about these safeguards and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit mskcc.org/coronavirus.
Moving Forward With Your Care
Appointments are available for new and existing patients. Our inpatient and outpatient facilities are open, and our healthcare teams are ready to provide the care and treatment you need.
You can request an appointment by calling your doctor’s office, by calling our Patient Access Service at +1 (800) 525-2225, or online via the MSK website. If you have questions about an upcoming appointment or if your appointment was postponed, please call your MSK doctor’s office to receive more information or to reschedule if necessary.
If you still have questions about coming to MSK for your cancer care right now, please check out our online resource page. You can also learn more by watching this video from MSK oncologist Dr. Diane Reidy about what to expect at your next appointment.
Cancer care is essential care, and we don’t want you to put it on hold. We are committed to ensuring that you continue to have access to the world-class cancer care you expect from us, in a safe and healthy environment.
With warmth and gratitude,
Lisa
Lisa DeAngelis, MD
Physician-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer | | |
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