Protection from COVID-19

Patients and their guests are only allowed to enter our clinic at Massachusetts Dermatology Associates if they have no symptoms or known exposures to COVID-19.   We discourage patients from bringing non-essential guests to allow for social distancing.  Upon arrival, clear signage reminds anyone entering our front door that they are forbidden to enter if they have any COVID symptoms or a recent exposure.

Every physician and staff member at Massachusetts Dermatology Associates must complete a thorough COVID-19 screening questionnaire every morning before working on-site at our clinic.  Staff members with even mild or non-specific symptoms are re-assigned to work from home.

Most of our patients eliminate on-site check-in altogether!  Three days prior to their visit, patients will receive an e-mail with a link which will guide the patient to an easy to complete online check-in.  This online process which we call “Rapid Check-in” eliminates the need for patients to check-in on-site, so patients can be brought to a private clinic exam room right away.  If you plan to be seen at Massachusetts Dermatology Associates and have not provided an e-mail address to us in the past, we would encourage you to call us with your e-mail information so that we can offer you the online check-in option.  If you prefer not to use the online check-in option, not to worry!  We have taken measures to reduce wait time at our check-in window.  On-site check-in should not take long and after check-in is complete, patients are promptly brought to a private clinic exam room.

Massachusetts Dermatology Associates has taken measures to minimize the number of patients in our waiting room.   We relocate each patient from the waiting room to a private clinic room promptly.  We also discourage non-essential guests to avoid crowding.

Massachusetts Dermatology Associates encourages all patients and staff to wash their hands frequently.  Touchless hand sanitizer dispensers are located in the reception area and throughout the clinic, including every clinic room.  Additionally, sinks are located in the hallway, in many of our clinic rooms, and in our four private bathrooms, including the bathrooms in the reception area.

Exam rooms will be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly after every patient, including all exam room chairs, exam tables, counters, and doorknobs. Pens and clipboards are wiped between uses. Reception area chairs and bathrooms are wiped throughout the day in addition to an enhanced nightly cleaning of the full clinic. We have made many of our processes touchless by switching to verbal rather than written consent and by encouraging online check-in, including an option to pay your copay online if preferred.  In addition, we have removed from our clinic any non-essential objects that are likely to be handled by more than one patient.  We have removed magazines, candies, and our coffee station, and we limit water coolers to staff use only. We encourage you to bring your own books or magazines for personal use and consider bringing a water bottle.

Yes! All patients, physicians, and staff members are required to wear a mask or a face covering for the full time that they are in our clinic.  Patients must keep the mask on for the duration of their visit and the mask may only be removed briefly in the clinic room if removal is essential to the patient’s medical examination or treatment.

If your treatment site can be addressed without removal of your mask (ears, lateral cheek, forehead, upper nose) then we will keep your mask on during the procedure.  We may replace your mask with our medical procedure mask.  In some cases, if the lesion is under the mask area, we may choose to adjust, fold, and tape the procedure mask to your face rather than use the earloops in order to expose the treatment area, but keep the mask over your nose and mouth as we work.  The mask will be only removed when necessary for medical diagnosis or treatment. Additionally, all physicians and staff will be wearing procedure masks.  Glove use and frequent hand hygiene are also mandated for encounters of all types.

The online rapid check-in not only eliminates the check-in step, but also streamlines the clinic visit.  The on-line check-in allows patients to update medical information and provide information regarding the reason for the visit in order to reduce time spent acquiring this information in the clinic room.  In addition, all staff members are trained on social distancing protocols.  In addition to wearing masks, staff and physicians will not shake patients’ hands and will sit at a slight distance from their patients.  When examining a patient, physicians will be wearing gloves.

In most cases, patients at Massachusetts Dermatology Associates can be brought to a private clinic exam room right when they arrive, so in most cases there is no need for a patient to wait in a car.  Occasionally, if patients are more than a few minutes early for their appointment it may be preferable to wait in the car.  To promote social distancing, we discourage patients from sitting in our waiting room for more than a few minutes.

Patients have the option to bring one visitor to their appointment.  To accomplish our goals of social distancing and safety, we discourage additional visitors.

Yes! Massachusetts Dermatology Associates will continue to offer virtual video visits for routine care that is amenable to video-based evaluation.

If you have a skin concern that is worsening or could become dangerous, please do not delay your care!  Please remember that waiting can make your symptoms and conditions worse.  Sometimes treatment may become more difficult or complex if a concern has been ignored for a prolonged time.  Extensive measures have been taken to maximize safety during visits to Massachusetts Dermatology Associates.

• Please use online check-in if you are able
• Keep at least six feet between yourself and others whenever possible
• Wear a mask at all times during your visit
• Practice good hygiene such as hand washing and/or hand sanitizing
• Do not enter the Massachusetts Dermatology Associates clinic if you have any COVID symptoms or recent possible exposures
• Alert a Massachusetts Dermatology Associates staff member if you have any safety questions or concerns