Service Updates
Our services across the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute have temporarily changed due to precautions around COVID-19.
Here is what we are doing and what you can do.
TAPMI services
- to support social distancing precautions and protect you
- to allow for staff and clinic resources to help areas most in need
What does this mean for you?
- you may have your clinic appointment cancelled for now- we will reschedule as soon as possible
- you may have your visit changed to a virtual visit using the telephone or even over video
- you will receive a call from us about your appointment
- pain management support- check out our Pain U online
- we are launching a live webinar series to support Ontarians with Chronic Pain
COVID-19 information
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Follow public health guidance
For more detailed information on the status of the virus and risk to Canadians, please visit the Public Health Agency of Canada or Ontario Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care websites.
General Information
What Should I do if I think I have COVID-19?Do you have a new onset of cough, fever or difficulty breathing?
AND
Have you travelled outside Canada?
OR
Have you been in close contact with a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19 or a person with acute respiratory illness who has travelled outside of Canada?If you are concerned that you have COVID-19 or that you may have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19, please contact Telehealth (1-866-797-0000), your local public health unit or your healthcare provider and inform them of your concerns. Please do not visit your healthcare provider before calling ahead.
Self-monitor, self-isolate, & isolation
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How to protect yourself
Everyday actions
- wash your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- sneeze and cough into your sleeve
- avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
- avoid contact with people who are sick
- stay home if you are sick
Poster - What you need to know to help you and your family stay healthy
Social distancing
- Reduce their exposure to other people- avoid close contact with people outside your immediate families.
- Close contact includes being within two (2) meters of another person.
- If you believe you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 symptoms, you should begin to self-monitor for a period of 14 days. This means that, in addition to social distancing, you should track how you feel. You should take your temperature daily and log any other symptoms that develop (e.g., sore throat, new cough). You can share these records with your primary care provider over the phone if you seek assessment services.
How to self-isolate
- Stay at home when you are sick with COVID-19
- Avoid contact with other people
- All persons over 70 years of age and individuals who are immunocompromised are advised to self-isolate for a period of 14 days.
- This means that you should only leave your home or see other people for essential reasons. Where possible, you should seek services over the phone or internet or ask for help from friends, family or neighbours with essential errands.
When self-isolating you should:How to self-isolate.
Stay home
- do not use public transportation, taxis or rideshares
- do not go to work, school or other public places
- your health care provider or public health unit will tell you when it is safe to leave
Limit the number of visitors in your home
- only have visitors who you must see and keep the visits short
- keep away from seniors and people with chronic medical conditions (e.g. diabetes, lung problems, immune deficiency)
Avoid contact with others
- stay in a separate room away from other people in your home as much as possible and use a separate bathroom if you have one
- make sure that shared rooms have good airflow (e.g. open windows)
Keep distance
- if you are in a room with other people, keep a distance of at least two metres and wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth
- if you cannot wear a mask, people should wear a mask when they are in the same room as you
Cover your coughs and sneezes
- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze
- cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hand
- throw used tissues in a lined waste basket, and wash your hands. Lining the wastebasket with a plastic bag makes waste disposal easier and safer.
- after emptying the wastebasket wash your hands
Wash your hands
- wash your hands often with soap and water
- dry your hands with a paper towel, or with your own cloth towel that no one else shares
- use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available
Wear a mask over your nose and mouth
- wear a mask if you must leave your house to see a health care provider
- wear a mask when you are within two metres of other people
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Medications
In order to practice social distancing AND stay on top of your pain management, make sure you have refills on your medication.
Health Canada is working to make sure you can practice social distancing AND have access to your medication by:
- permitting pharmacists to extend prescriptions;
permitting pharmacists to transfer prescriptions to other pharmacists; and by - permitting prescribers to issue verbal orders (i.e., over the phone) to extend or refill a prescription.
Call your pharmacist or doctor regarding your prescriptions.
- permitting pharmacists to extend prescriptions;