HALO Diagnostics

To our Referring Physicians, Patients and our Community,

As hospital imaging centers are stretched to care for the more serious cases of the coronavirus infection requiring hospitalization, we remain diligent to communicate our commitment to safeguard our patients and community.

Ensuring the safety of our patients and our team:

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended guidelines are considered on a daily basis and all new recommendations are immediately adopted.
• Policy changes: Occur regularly and are communicated to our team.

CDC recommendations adopted at our centers include:

• Patient screening: At time of scheduling, confirmation and arrival to our centers, patient are screened for fever >100.4 degrees, shortness of breath, cough and recent history of travel to any restricted area.
• Patient temperature: No-contact thermometers have been implemented to screen for fever that may not be clinically apparent to the patient.
• Equipment/Room cleaning: In accordance with the CDC recommended guidelines, all equipment and surrounding areas are cleaned with recommended medical sanitizer in between each patient exam. 
• Scheduling: Asymptomatic elective screening exams have been deferred, exams such as screening mammography, while symptomatic exams continue.
• Masks & Gloves: The CDC recommends patient-facing / healthcare providers wear masks and gloves.  The CDC recommends masks and gloves be worn by non-healthcare staff, however, the CDC states this measure is not mandatory.   

General Information:

• Spread of the Virus: We follow the Johns Hopkins Interactive Map (link below) and recommend you do the same.
• Patient Responsibility: High priorities includes – continue social distancing, avoid non-essential travel, avoid sick people and avoid touching your face while performing frequent hand washing and frequent cleaning of commonly touched surfaces in your home. Patients are also encouraged to wear a mask when visiting our centers.

Helpful links:

• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1
• https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html