The San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the corresponding agencies for five surrounding counties of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, are currently enforcing a “shelter-in-place” order. 

Healthcare facilities and clinics, and the patients visiting them, are specifically exempt from this order.  Our intention is that our office will remain open during the “shelter in place” order, although we will continue to follow closely the recommendations of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the California Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control. 

Office visits will be for acute and active issues under our management only.  Maintenance treatments are postponed until the order is lifted.

We request that all patients with acute cold or flu symptoms, including fever, cough or shortness of breath, and those with sick family members, please cancel their appointments. There will be no charge for late cancellations.  Health departments recommend that patients with these symptoms contact their primary care provider or local health department for guidance about testing for Covid-19. In addition, we are offering telemedicine appointments for advice and recommendations for self care including homeopathy and other natural medicines, see here. Severe illness merits a call to 911.

High risk patients (due to age or chronic illness including lung, heart, or immune system problems) should contact us directly to discuss coming in before making an appointment. See also separate page about home-visits here. 

Safety for patients

We have always maintained sanitary conditions in our office, including hand washing and disinfecting treatment tables as well as nightly cleaning by building maintenance. As there are only two physicians in our office and no on-site staff, there are limited numbers of people in the office at any one time, reducing the number of contacts during a visit. 

We are now taking a number of extra steps to keep patients safe, including:

  • disinfecting all door knobs, signal buttons, keyboards and other surfaces between each patient.  
  • wearing a mask during your treatment given the close proximity; this is not because we are sick but is done to add extra protection to ourselves and patients. 
  • minimizing time in the waiting room due to our limited schedule. In addition, we ask that any family members stay at home if possible. If they need to accompany you, we request that they come into the treatment room during your appointment to minimize the number of people in the waiting room.

What to do when you arrive

When you arrive for your appointment, please wash your hands in the bathroom down the main hall from our office. The bathroom door has been unlocked, so no code is necessary and you simply need to push the door open to enter. If that is not possible, use the hand sanitizer provided in the waiting room to disinfect your hands. Hand sanitizer will also be available at any time during your appointment.

Generally, you should follow all recommended guidelines including staying home when sick, frequent hand washing, avoiding touching your face, coughing into a tissue or a clothed elbow and keeping social distance. 

Please check any information you receive about the Covid-19 virus against the information provided on the excellent websites maintained by county, state and federal public health agencies: 

San Francisco Department of Public Health
California Department of Public Health
Centers for Disease Control

Thank you for observing these recommendations so we can slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. 

For details about home visits, please visit here.

For details about telemedicine consult, please visit here.