Dr. Gilmartin (SF and Marin) will be performing home visits for selected patients during the time of the California shelter-in-place order due to the COVID-19 virus. The reason for these visits is to provide a safe and essential medical service for patients who, for reasons of age or chronic illness, are best provided osteopathic care at home. 

All non-essential trips out of the home are prohibited under the shelter-in-place order. Visits to clinics for essential medical care that cannot be addressed by telemedicine are excluded from this order. For some patients, age or chronic illness (for example, heart disease, lung disease, immune problems) means any trip out of the home is discouraged. For these patients I will be offering home visits for osteopathic care. 

All visits need to be pre-screened by a phone conversation:

  • Only current patients or those under the care of another osteopathic physician
  • No patients who have symptoms of the Covid-19 virus (fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat). Such patients should contact a primary care provider or the department of public health for advice about testing. Severe illness requires a call to 911.
  • These visits are for acute or active problems that require in-person attention either for symptom relief or to prevent worsening. In-home visits for routine matters cannot be scheduled.

Benefits for Patient:

Able to remain at home for those most vulnerable individuals, and avoid possible exposure to viral illness in clinics and urgent care.

Physician Precautions:

  • A clean surgical gown, surgical shoe covers and an N95 mask placed upon entering your home
  • Portable massage table cleaned with an EPA approved disinfectant prior to treatment
  • Hands disinfected as indicated before and during treatment

Patient Preventive Measures:

  • Patient will be required to wash their hands and wear a simple cloth mask during the treatment, provided if not available
  • All pets (even the nicest ones!) will need to be secured in a separate room to avoid contact with physician
  • We request that another family member be present in the home during the treatment

Treatment can be provided in any common room in your home (or garage) as long as there is a space approximately the size of a king-sized bed for the treatment table to be set up. we will also require a chair, ideally with the height adjustable.

While home visits may help keep patients “sheltered in place,” out of urgent care and emergency rooms, I may still need to refer you to such facilities for x-rays, blood work or other studies if indicated. While the pre-screening phone call will try to determine which patients need to proceed to urgent care or emergency room, if this determination is made during home visit, charge for the home visit will still accrue.

Insurance is not accepted but paperwork will be provided for applying for reimbursement from insurance. Please contact me with further questions.

Cost: $440 per visit