RACI Announcement on COVID-19

3/27/2020

Currently most of our RACI offices remain open, however our schedule is limited by the exclusion of routine exams. 

Beginning Monday, March 30th, you may take advantage of our Virtual Office Visit option if you are unable to leave your home, you are a current RACI patient, and you need to speak with a retina specialist about an eye problem or have a question pertaining to an upcoming appointment (i.e. “Is my upcoming appointment critical or can it be delayed?”). Click on “Schedule Virtual Office Visit” to get started.

The physicians and staff at Retina Associates sincerely hope that you, your friends, and family are healthy during these potentially stressful times. We are doing everything we can to take extra precautions and protect the health and safety of our patients, staff, and doctors as the COVID-19 coronavirus impacts our community.

We know that Governor DeWine has initiated a “Stay at Home” order, however, we want to assure you that our offices remain open as an essential medical practice.  We are exercising an abundance of caution and taking additional measures to ensure we have the safest environment possible for our patients.  We’ve made changes to the schedule to help cut down on volume and wait-time by rescheduling all routine follow-up appointments.  This will allow our doctors to care for our patients with critical needs and allow for safe social distancing in our waiting rooms.  Drivers and family members will be asked to remain outside of our office or limited to one person if possible

To our patients with an upcoming scheduled appointment:

• If you have an upcoming appointment for an eye injection, laser procedure, OCT exam, post-op appointment, or other more urgent need:  We encourage you to keep your appointment. As you know, these appointments may be critical to ensure your best vision.
• If you feel ill, are experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms, and/or if you have been diagnosed or have been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 2 weeks:  Please call our office to reschedule your appointment.  Consider taking advantage of our new “Virtual Office Visit” option. See details below.

A New “Virtual Office Visit” option will be available to our patients starting Monday, March 30th.  You can ask questions and chat with one of our Retina Associates physicians, Llew Rao, MD, via webcam (phone or computer) in the privacy of your home. 

To use the Virtual Office Visit option, schedule an appointment by email or by phone with one of our receptionists in the Beachwood office. To schedule, use evisit@retina-assoc.com, or call our Beachwood office at 216-831-5700. You may also schedule by visiting our website, www.retina-doctors.com and click on “Schedule Virtual Office Visit”.

We anticipate the potential risk of new developments, such as staffing issues, which could affect the number of RACI offices open for appointments.  We will keep you apprised of any changes to office availability.  Check the homepage of our website, www.retina-doctors.com, or our Facebook page for new announcements.

We will continue to monitor this situation closely and keep you updated regarding any new changes to our policies or procedures regarding patient appointments.  We will work closely with you and are happy to answer any questions you may have during this unprecedented time of health crisis.  Stay healthy!

Sincerely,

The Physicians of Retina Associates of Cleveland

Read the full announcement