PracticalDermatology

We all knew that there was a fairly good chance that when the pandemic came to a close (or was under some form of control), we would see an uptick in our visits and some degree of pent-up demand. I’m not trying to dismiss good fortune, but I just didn’t expect every single patient to come back in one week!

Since the beginning of March we have had a significant return to normal in our practice, including many skin cancer patients who patiently observed their cancers growing in size but kept up their socially-distanced existence. This is not an isolated case, and we have heard many say that they were well-aware these were cancers but just weren’t going to risk coming to the office. Truly, it is sad to see the Mohs layers mount on these individuals.

We are also seeing a decrease in our telemedicine appointments, but we continue to offer them for those patients who are so inclined. They are particularly popular for the laser hair removal and tattoo removal consults. Interestingly, we have had a huge upswing in these services since telemedicine put these consultations a click away for patients. Additionally, such patients have been quite reliable in coming in for their actual appointments, which is another positive development!

Our cosmetic services are burgeoning, as well, with the best month ever for botulinum toxins and fillers (yes!) being March of this year. It almost seems like a huge panic attack has occurred in many homes across the country now that masks are being eschewed. Additionally, the willingness to invest in their appearance has dramatically increased patients’ overall spend for these procedures. It appears that people are ready to treat themselves well.

What hasn’t changed, at least in our office, is our insistence on following social-distancing rules, cleaning rooms more thoroughly than ever before, refusing to have guests accompany patients (except when necessary), and not shaking hands. We are still taking temperatures and asking about fever and any symptoms, but we have yet to find a single patient who admitted to any of these so far. Clearly, we have a remarkably healthy group of patients!

As for bad behaviors: Yes, these are reappearing to some degree. We were absolutely blessed during the pandemic to have patients who were kind, caring, and appreciative of our being open and available. While people are still nicer in general, there is clearly some stress (e.g., “I have to get to work!” or “Are they going to be seeing me soon?”) that wasn’t as prevalent during the dark hours of the pandemic. This could also be a reflection on our lack of timeliness in comparison with our performance during the slow times of COVID. It might also reflect patients who are returning to in-office work after working from home on a more lax schedule for the last year. We are trying our best to be punctual, but we are also seeing multiple patients with a laundry list of problems they saved up for when the world reopened. It may take some time to get through everyone’s list.

As for me, I am savoring the “sabbatical” of sorts that I had during the outbreak. Clearly, I remained working every day in some manner and had minimal vacation time (where would I have gone?), but there was a relaxation and decreased pressure that I will be striving to maintain and extend in some manner as we enter into “old” territory and the daily challenges of a solo practice. I have kept our office hours somewhat abbreviated as we had them during the pandemic and plan to remain this way as long as possible. Additionally, I am able to access more meetings and events than before via Zoom, giving me more time at home, which I am particularly enjoying!

As an office, we are nearly 100 percent vaccinated, which I also count as a major accomplishment. It took education and patience, along with some tough love, to get to this point. We did lose a few employees who refused to be vaccinated, but we did that with care and parted as friends.

Lastly, we are excited to be back in Nashville this coming December 1-4 at the JW Marriott for Cosmetic Surgery Forum (www.CosmeticSurgeryForum.com). We encourage those of you who feel comfortable to attend, as it looks like it will be a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and share stories of how we survived the pandemic. I look forward to seeing you there!