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Hallberg's Picture of Health
Tom Crann and Dr. Jon Hallberg

Doctors cancelling routine visits, elective procedures to limit spread of coronavirus

A sign on a door of a clinic reads "Stop!"
A sign posted to the entrance of the University of Minnesota Physicians Mill City Clinic in downtown Minneapolis asks patients who may have COVID-19 to return to their car or home and call the clinic.
Courtesy of Jon Hallberg

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We weren’t sure if we’d get Dr. Jon Hallberg on this week for our Tuesday medical chat. Like most doctors’ offices right now, things are changing rapidly in his downtown Minneapolis clinic. But we did connect via phone and Hallberg said the biggest thing right now is prioritizing who he and his colleagues see.

“Boy, if I could do one thing that would be a very simple fix, I would turn off these notifications,” he said, referring to the automatic reminders patients get for routine exams and checkups.

Right now, most doctors are cancelling those appointments to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

To that end, Hallberg is urging patients to make sure they can receive those cancellation notices.

“It's surprising how many people have full voicemail boxes, especially older patients. They've never set them up,” he said. “So, we're trying to call people and they're not answering and we can't leave a message. And then people are showing up completely surprised that there's been a change.”

Hallberg said he expects his clinic will begin using telemedicine visits more often. He said many clinics are also adjusting their policies so they can refill prescriptions without seeing patients in person.

“This is so hard for us. We're in health care. We want to take care of people. We want to see people when they're suffering,” he said. “And to say, ‘Sorry, we don't want to see you,’ or, ‘Stop, please do not even come in these doors.’ These are just different circumstances.”

To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above.