Seeking medical care after an accident is vital to making a full recovery. If you have been injured, you want to get care as soon as possible so you can start the recovery process. The best way to achieve this is to have your injuries documented and diagnosed. Tell your doctor and nurse about all of the symptoms you are experiencing after the accident. The sooner you are diagnosed the better likelihood you have to make a full recovery.
Consistent Medical Treatment is Key to Your Personal Injury Claim
It is also important to seek medical care after an accident in regard to making a personal injury claim. Consistency is key to a successful claim and it is absolutely vital that you continue and follow through with your care. Gaps in treatment are viewed negatively by insurance companies and juries. Delays or gaps in treatment can lead to problems. The jury is going to think that if you were hurting and needed treatment, you would see a doctor. Another issue that arises with delays or gaps in treatment is that from a legal standpoint it is hard to proximately relate the injury back to the accident.
You may be concerned about how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect your medical care and treatment now that many doctors are no longer seeing patients in the office, and even if your doctor is still seeing patients in person, you may be concerned about going into the office and being exposed to the virus. Traditional in-person care is still the best route to go if this option is available to you. If your doctor is still seeing patients in person, go in and follow the proper precautions. If in-person medical care is no longer available to you or you are concerned about exposure to the virus, a secondary option is telemedicine.
Telemedicine as a Treatment Option
Telemedicine has become increasingly popular in the last few years with many major healthcare systems now participating in this new way for patients to access healthcare. Telemedicine is the practice of medicine using technology to deliver healthcare at a distance and is wildly supported as an alternative means to receive healthcare by many medical associations, including both the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians. The use of telemedicine allows for doctors to diagnose, give prescriptions, recommend imaging, or even prescribe home exercises.
Alabama Telemedicine Treatment Providers
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many local provider’s offices have made telemedicine options available. The following are providers in Alabama offering telemedicine options:
Birmingham
- Alabama Orthopaedic Surgeons (currently seeing new patients in clinic during morning clinic hours and existing patients via telemedicine for follow-up visits)
- OrthoSports (initial appointments are in-person and follow-up appointments have telemedicine option)
- UAB eMedicine
Cullman
Dothan
- Southern Bone & Joint(continues to see patients in-person and via their telemedicine platform)
Mobile
- Alabama Orthopedic Clinic (continues to maintain in-person office visits as well as a telemedicine option)
- Alabama Orthopedic Clinic Physical Therapy
Montgomery
- Woodling and Dr. Taylor continue to see patients in their respective offices as needed
Huntsville
- Eric Beck(seeing patients via telemedicine only)
- SportsMed(seeing patients utilizing a mix of in-person visits and telemedicine)
- The Orthopedic Center
Additionally, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama members can receive telemedicine services through Teladoc, a national telehealth service provider. Other national telehealth providers include MDLive and Amwell, which both offer access to 24/7 medical services.
For more information on what telemedicine is or to find more telemedicine services click here.
Remember, seeing a doctor in the days following an accident is vital to both your recovery and your potential personal injury claim. If you do not feel comfortable going into a doctor’s office due to the COVID-19 pandemic, use telemedicine services and in conjunction, we suggest keeping a journal of all of your symptoms or injuries so that you can better recall them later on.