Patient Visit Guidelines

We are updating our patient visit process to keep staff and patients as safe as possible in the face of a new surge in COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts and across the country.

• You will continue to receive a pre-visit phone screening the day prior to your visit
• You will also be screened in the lobby at 1340 Boylston or Fenway: South End when you arrive for your visit
• If you have a MEDICAL APPOINTMENT
  • After you check-in, a Medical Assistant (MA) will bring you to an exam room and take your vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, weight).
  • Then the MA will leave and your provider will call you either on your cell phone or on the room phone to go over your medical history. This will allow us to cut down on the amount of time you both spend in the exam room together in order to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
  • Your provider will then join you for your exam or procedure and a follow-up conversation. Your provider may also provide you with a printed after-visit summary and any follow-up instructions.
• If you have a DENTAL APPOINTMENT
  • After you check-in, a Dental Assistant or Dental Hygienist will bring you to a dental operatory and provide you with a pre-procedure mouth rinse.
  • For hygiene appointments, a Hygienist will perform a dental cleaning. For all other visits, a Dentist will treat you directly.
• If you have an OPTOMETRY APPOINTMENT
  • • After you check-in, an Optometric Tech (OT) will bring you to an exam room and may conduct some pre-visit testing.
    • Your Optometrist will then join you for your exam or procedure and a follow-up conversation. Your Optometrist will provide you with your printed optical prescription(s) and any follow-up instructions.
• Then you can go about your day.

Returning to MA After Travel?
Currently, all Fenway locations require that any patient or clients who have lived in or traveled outside the state of Massachusetts in the last two weeks provide proof of a negative COVID test in order to be seen in person. This can be provided on paper or pulled up on an electronic device upon entry to any Fenway building. These results need to be from 72 hours before your return to Massachusetts or upon your return and before your visit to Fenway Health.

This applies to all patients and clients, regardless of the circumstances of your travel.

COVID Screening for Patients and Clients
Starting Monday, March 15, Fenway Health will no longer include an out of state travel question as part of the in-person visit screening process for CLIENTS/PATIENTS. This means that clients/patients traveling to Fenway Health in-person appointments from other states will no longer be required by Fenway Health to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test in order to be allowed into our buildings.

The reasons for this change in our protocols are:

1. By lifting this requirement, we will be removing an obstacle to care for many of our out-of-state patients who are overdue for much needed in-person care or eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment with us.
2. We feel that our infection control protocols, coupled with an excellent vaccination rate among our staff, will continue to prevent infections from occurring within our buildings.
3. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has already offered an exemption from the testing requirement to folks coming to the state for health care or clinical trial related visits, and we feel we are now able to safely comply with this exemption.
4. Other health care organizations have been complying with this exemption for some time and have not reported any significant on-site COVID-19 transmission incidents as a result.

We will continue to screen anyone entering our buildings for COVID-19 symptoms and exposures. We await further guidance from the MDPH regarding how COVID-19 vaccination status will impact our screening protocols.